Prologue Beyond Prophecy
by Skyblaze
Summary: Sonic Underground AU. Shadow is a Knight-protector of the Royal Family, and deeply embroiled in the destiny of the triplets. But he is wary of the prophecy even though he has his own destiny to fulfil. AU, pre-slash Sonadow
1. Prologue

Prologue - Beyond Prophecy

There were many people scurrying around the hallowed halls of the palace today.

Functionaries, chambermaids, ladies-in-waiting and not a few Knights were all jockeying to be the first to see Queen Aleena's newborn children. All wanted to be the first to be called into the Queen's chamber, to be given the great honour of announcing to all of Mobius the names of the new royal brood.

Shadow the Hedgehog, First Knight of the Realm and personal bodyguard to the Queen, did not bother to engage in the petty posturing the rest of the household staff were participating in.  He had no interest in their power games. If the Queen wanted him to attend, she would call him, simple as that.

Instead, he sat on a comfortable couch in the parlour, presenting the appearance of someone perfectly relaxed and comfortable, his ruby-red eyes half-lidded as if in torpor, but everyone in the palace knew better than to sneak up on him, as doing so was liable to end up with your head being removed from your shoulders.

There was a reason Queen Aleena kept him as her bodyguard.

Feeling as comfortable and relaxed as he ever did, Shadow allowed his mind to drift. It had been almost forty years since he had first taken a position at the Palace. He had not been accepted elsewhere, branded a freak and an abomination pretty much everywhere else, the easy acceptance granted him by the Royal Family had come as no small surprise to the black hedgehog. His skills and abilities being what they were, he had risen rapidly from squire to apprentice then on to full Knight, gaining much honour in his defence of the kingdom and the Royal Family, eventually gaining the much-coveted position of First Knight of the Realm.

Until that blasted Prophet had appeared.

The Oracle of Delphius, hailed as the greatest and most accurate Prophet on Mobius had appeared in Court fifteen years ago, first going into private consultations with the King and Queen, as well as young Princess Aleena. The Oracle had caused a big stir among the Court. Speculation had been rife, and it had doubled when the Royal Family emerged from their discussions with the Oracle, all looking pale, their eyes filled with grief and fear.

While that had certainly not endeared the Oracle to Shadow, things quickly got worse when the Oracle had requested a private meeting with the First Knight of the Realm.

Shadow felt his fingers clench into a fist at the thought. The Oracle had told Shadow that he must remain close to the Royal Family, because it was destined that Shadow's Life Mate would come to him through them, and Shadow would then gain what few Mobians ever had - a true bonded mate.

It had been fifteen years of waiting and watching and hoping, and still nothing. He had not found a mate among the Royal Family's allies, friends or advisors. All he had gained were tortured dreams about a pair of beautiful emerald eyes, taunting him with their impossible brightness. Eyes in a face that didn't exist.

His rising anger was abruptly quashed when he heard signs of a greater commotion near the doorway to the bedchamber. The middle-aged Stoat who had been acting as midwife stepped out of the chamber, hey eyes scanned the hopeful crowd, searching for one person until she locked gaze with Shadow.

"Sir Shadow," She called, "Her Majesty requests your attendance,"

Shadow pushed his way through the gathered nobles and senior servants, returning the spiteful and envious glares sent his way with a satisfied smirk. He entered quietly, as was his habit, bowing gracefully before the Queen and her children.

"Hail Queen Aleena and hail to the new life-sparks that have blessed us with their arrival." He spoke the ritual phrase softly, but precisely. Aleena smiled at him as he rose from his bow.

"Hail Sir Shadow, Knight of our Realm. We thank you for your blessings and your service," Ritual formulas dutifully said, they exchanged a grin,

"Now that's over with, would you like to meet the brats who put me through agony for the past nine hours?"

A low chuckle was the response as Aleena scooted to the edge of the bed, picking up a bundle out of the large, ornately carved cradle.

"This is Manic, my youngest," She smiled, turning aside the blanket to reveal a tiny, green-quilled hedgehog.

"He looks like his Father," Shadow said quietly, regretting the words when he saw Aleena's eyes darken with grief.

"Yes," She replied sadly. Her husband - Jericho, the Crown Prince - had died of a rare fever seven months previously. He had never even known he was going to be a father. Quickly, she returned Manic to his crib and picked up a second bundle, "This is Sonia, my second child," Holding out her newborn daughter for Shadow's inspection. Shadow saw the purple-pink quills and fur and smiled,

"She looks a lot like you, Your Majesty,"

"Which means she will be a hell-raiser when she grows up, no doubt!" Aleena chuckled wearily, putting down Sonia and picking up the final bundle, "And this is my eldest, Sonic."

As she turned aside the blanket, Shadow got only a momentary impression of cobalt-blue quills and obsidian-dark eyes before his entire world reeled as if he had been struck.

Gasping desperately for breath, Shadow felt his heart thump painfully against his ribs, his head felt full of noise as his vision slowly went fuzzy…but he couldn't look away from the child's eyes.

"Shadow!" Aleena's voice cut through the confusion, and he felt everything suddenly snap back into focus. He felt dizzy, shaken, adrenaline coursed through his veins as though he had just emerged from a battle, "Are you all right?" The queen's voice seemed to come from far away.

"I…" The automatic 'I'm fine' died on his lips. He didn't feel fine, not at all. He felt…confused.

"What happened? Do you want me to call the doctor?"

"No," Shadow said firmly, raising his eyes to meet those of his queen. He swallowed hard, "I know what happened. It is…no threat to my health."

Shadow stared at the tiny baby in Aleena's arms, looking into the dark eyes of the child, feeling cheated by fate, "I think I may have just found my Life Mate," He said, his voice sounding hoarse.

"Oh…Shadow…" Aleena murmured. She knew Shadow had waited for fifteen years to find his mate, and now he would have to wait another sixteen at least before he would even be able to court his life mate. "Destiny is truly a cruel mistress, isn't it?"

"Yes, my Queen," Shadow sighed. He had found his life mate, but had no fewer frustrations. More years of waiting lay ahead, for him. And what of those dreams or emerald green eyes? Were they just dreams, or were they a sign of some other disaster to come?

"Destiny is even crueller than you think, Your Majesty," a new voice said from behind him. Shadow whirled around, dropping automatically into a fighting stance. He didn't have his sword, but he was perfectly capable of fighting without it. His red eyes blazed when he saw the intruder.

"Delphius!" Shadow snarled, "Come to peddle your cheap promises again?"

The prophet held up a hand, "I gave you no false promise, Sir Knight. Nor am I hear to fight you."

"Then why are you here, Oracle?" The Queen asked, keeping her composure impressively well.

"I am here to warn you. You and your family are all in terrible danger,"

"What is this danger?" Shadow demanded.

The Oracle bowed his head,

"Robotnik." He said.

_To Be Continued in 'Run Through the Light'_

--

Author's Notes: Yes, I know. It's short, it ends on a cliff-hanger and nothing much actually happens. I just couldn't get the idea out of my head. Oh, and I know that in canon, Sonia is the oldest, but Sonic as the eldest makes more sense in the larger context of the story I'm building here.


	2. Run Through the Light

Chapter One - Run Through the Light

_One year later…_

The muted sounds of explosions, gunfire and the scream of tortured metal filtered through the thick stone walls of the palace as Shadow raced up the stairs and down the corridors. The once pristine halls were littered with glass and assorted debris, most of the windows had been shattered and the beautiful hand-made wallpaper was scratched and scorched from the impact of swords and laser fire.

Likewise, Shadow's charcoal-grey uniform jacket was also torn and battered, splattered with oil and smoke stains; the usually neat maroon trim and white braiding had been mostly burnt or torn away. His sword, a beautifully made straight-edge sabre, was still clutched in his hand, its blade covered in scratches and nicks from striking unyielding metal armour, engine grease still smeared across the surface.

From outside, a shrill whistling noise sounded, growing steadily louder. With a curse, Shadow threw himself hastily to the ground and covered his head just as a missile hit the wall just behind him, shaking the floor with a colossal detonation and showering the area with dust and stone fragments.

"I have to get to the Queen," He grunted, levering himself up. He quickly dusted himself down and continued his headlong sprint towards where the Queen and her children were hiding; wishing fervently that he had exchanged his formal boots for his far more practical air-skates as he made his was to the well-protected chamber deep inside the palace.

"Your Majesty," He called once he was inside. The Queen was sat with her three infant children on a divan in one corner, cuddling them close to her, her face looking drawn and fearful in the dim lamp-light.

"Shadow?" She asked, her brow creasing with concern, "Are you alright?"

"I've been better," He muttered, then shook his head, "That's not important right now, Your Majesty. We need to get you and the children out of the Palace, now."

A look of pain crossed her face, "Is it going so badly, then?" In this windowless room, she would have no idea how the battle was going, save for feeling the vibrations caused by the explosions as they rumbled through the walls and floor.

Shadow felt his hand clamp tightly around his sword hilt, "Yes, my Queen," He forced his voice to remain steady and not display the seething anger he felt, "There are just too many robots, every time we take one down, two more line up to take its place. The palace will be overrun very soon."

Aleena set the children down and stood up, walking over to a large metal-bound wooden chest in the corner, she pulled out a large draw-string sack and began to rapidly fill it with several useful items they would need.

Shadow sheathed his sword and took a moment to check over the children. They seemed remarkably peaceful considering the mayhem all around them, only Sonia was fussing slightly, sniffling and hiccupping, her eyes slightly wet with recently-shed tears. Manic was sleeping, sleeping with the complete abandon of the young. Sonic was looking up at him, obsidian eyes wide with curiosity. Shadow gently reached out to tuck his blanket more firmly around him and Sonic caught his finger, gurgling happily as his own chubby fingers curled around Shadow's gloved hand.

"Shadow," Aleena called him and Shadow carefully disengaged himself from the infant's tenacious grip to see what she wanted.

She held out a pair of objects to him, and as he took them he could see that they were similar in design to his air-skates, but sleeker, more compact and, unlike his plain white air-skates, were coloured in vibrant shades of red, gold, black and white.

"They're called 'jet-shoes'," Aleena said, "I had them made for you. They should enhance your speed over rough terrain."

"Thank you, your Majesty," He breathed as he admired them.

"There's one other thing," She said, reaching into the chest again and pulling out a small metal box about the size of her fist. With a flick, she opened it and Shadow couldn't help but gasp at what he saw was inside it. Reverently, he reached up to take it, feeling the gentle radiance of the perfect jewel in the box as its light played across his hands and torso.

"We'll stand a better chance if we split up," Queen Aleena said then in a business-like tone, slinging the sack full of supplies over one shoulder, "You might want to change, the uniform is a little distinctive," Then she turned back to her babies. Shadow saw a lot of the starch go out of her spine as she touched one tender hand to Manic's innocent sleeping face, "Do you remember the plan?" She asked softly.

"Yes, your Majesty," He said as he slipped off his boots and replaced them with the jet shoes. He had to admit that they looked good, and felt very comfortable. Then he shrugged off his tattered uniform jacket, leaving him in just his shoes, white gloves and the gold cuffs clamped around his wrists, shimmering slightly in the erratic light.

"Here," Aleena said, holding out the blanket-wrapped bundle that contained the dozing form of the eldest prince, a look of obscure pain deep in her eyes.

"Your Majesty…" Shadow said, taken aback. Aleena shook her head,

"No more formalities. From now on, you can call me Aleena,"

He looked up at her, his carmine eyes full of uncertainty, "Aleena…" He whispered, "I can't…"

She pushed the precious bundle into his arms, and again Shadow caught Sonic's sleepy, coal-dark gaze.

"Please…" Aleena said, her voice cracking. Shadow closed his eyes, realising that he would likely never know what this was costing his queen, to say good-bye to her own children.

Finally, Shadow nodded and took a step back, bowing to his queen as best he could with the infant in his arms.

"Good luck, Shadow."

"You too." He said. Taking the shining green jewel she had given him from its box. Baby Sonic stared up at the glowing Chaos Emerald with abject fascination as Shadow raised it into the air. Red eyes narrowed in concentration as he intoned words he hadn't spoken in over forty years.

"Chaos…CONTROL!"

In a flash of bright golden light, Sonic and Shadow were gone.

Nodding in satisfaction, Aleena turns to pull on a simple dark cloak and picked up her other two children. Punching a hidden switch, a well-hidden trap door groaned ponderously open. Blinking away her tears, she kissed her two remaining babies and descended into the cold darkness of the tunnel below the palace.

----

In a dark, deserted alleyway somewhere in Downtown Metropolis, the dingy streets were briefly lit by a vivid golden flare of light. When the light had faded, the previously empty alley was now occupied by the lean figure of the former First Knight of the Realm and the former Crown Prince of Mobius.

Shadow looked around quickly, noting the streets nearby were silent and deserted and the skies above were beginning to turn dark. Nodding in satisfaction, Shadow padded noiselessly through the quiet side streets until he reached the house he had been told about.

Gently, he placed his precious burden down on the front step and gazed into the infant's eyes.

"Sonic," He said gravely, "I have to leave you for awhile, now, but I promise I will watch over you whenever I can." Ruby eyes locked with obsidian, the child's eyes were wide and he was beginning to sniffle and fuss. Shadow closed his eyes, alone as he was, in a strange place without his Mother. Shadow could hardly blame the infant hedgehog for that. He knelt down, touching the child's face gently.

"I am sorry, little one," He said softly, "But I promise that if you ever need me, all you have to do is call for me and I will come to you, no matter how far away I am."

Feeling an almost physical ache in his chest, he stood, turned, and ghosted off into the gathering twilight, the only sounds marking his passage the soft 'swish-swish' of his jet-shoes.

Crown Prince Sonic looked around in confusion. He was getting cold! Where was soft-warm Mother-voice? Or squeaky Nanny-feathers? And where was the red-black-fur, the one with the nice voice and the gentle hands? Where had they all gone?

The infant prince began to whimper, and then to cry in earnest, feeling lost, bereft and cold.

When the couple who owned the house opened the door, they found a squalling blue hedgehog infant who kept crying out the same pair of syllables over and over again.

"Sha-dah! Sha-dah!"

---

_To be Continued in 'Night Vision' _


	3. Night Vision

Chapter Two – Night Vision

_Six Years Later…_

It was mid-winter in Metropolis. The night was still and cold. Smoke rose in solid, unbroken columns from the many smokestacks that dotted the city, adding to the layer of smog that smeared the sparkling stars overhead into dull blobs of silver.

A troop of SWATBots marched down one cobbled road, their steps in perfect, unnatural sync. The people of the city – those who had thus far avoided being roboticised - avoided them. The streets were deserted and silent save for the dull, repetitive thud of metal feet hitting the cobbled ground.

There were two purely organic Mobians who were out that night. Two tall canids rode on a hover sled ahead of the SWATbots. One of them was slender, with grey fur and a long, wolflike muzzle, the other was a hulking, musclebound creature with burnt orange fur.

"Hey, Sleet?" The orange, muscled canine asked his companion.

"Yes, Dingo?"

"Why are we taking these guys into custody again?"

The grey one sighed, "Because they're conspiring with the Freedom Fighters, you meat head."

Dingo scratched his head, "But Doctor Robotnik says on TV there aren't any Freedom Fighters…"

Sleet rolled his eyes and clipped his companion around the ear, "It's called 'propaganda', dummy. Or 'public relations' if you're being diplomatic about it."

"Oh." Dingo said in the tone of voice that indicated he didn't understand at all.

"Never mind," Sleet muttered, powering down the hover-sled as they arrived at their destination, "We'll take the rear and send the SWATBots in the front."

"Why's that, Sleet?"

"They could be armed," Sleet shrugged, "There's no point putting ourselves in line of fire if we don't have to."

"Ok." Dingo replied placidly.

They took the fire-escape, positioning themselves on the roof opposite the target house where they could watch the narrow back door and make sure their targets didn't get away.

There were sounds of commotion coming from inside, a high, feminine scream of alarm, followed by the far deeper sound of a male yelling and the banging and crashing that indicated the two rebels were not intending to go along quietly.

Quite suddenly, the back door flew open and a small figure darted out into the narrow alley behind the house. It was moving at a headlong sprint, it's colour and species impossible to tell in the dim shadows and under the dull sodium lights that bleached everything into shades of orange, grey and brown, the only thing was immediately obvious was that it was clearly a child.

"Hmph," Sleet snorted, "Just a kid,"

"Should we go after him, Sleet?" Dingo asked.

Sleet felt an uneasy feeling between his shoulder blades that told him he probably shouldn't, but… "Yes. Robotnik ordered all in the house were to be detained." He shifted as if to start moving towards the alley.

From nowhere there was a flash of light reflecting off metal, and then something cold and sharp caught him just below the chin.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," A low tenor voice advised him. Sleet went for his gun, only to find his holster empty. A grunt of alarm behind him told him that Dingo was similarly unarmed.

"Looking for these?" The voice asked mockingly. The guns clattered onto the floor at his feet, divested of their magazines, "Move and you will have more than just your guns removed from you." The voice said in a deadly tone. Sleet shifted his gaze, following the line of the sword poised at his throat, trying to see into the face of his attacker, but all he could see was a pair of ruby-red eyes that seemed to burn in the darkness, white-gloved hand gripped the sword in a strangely delicate grasp.

The sword itself was a work of art; a relatively unadorned, but beautifully made, straight-edge sabre. His eye was caught by something engraved on the hilt –a gold ring with wings sprouting from it which encircled a peculiar design that looked like a stylised 'C' with spine-like prongs sweeping out from the top and back like the spines of a porcupine – or a hedgehog. Sleet caught his breath when he saw it.

"Dingo," He said in as normal a voice as he could muster, "Do exactly what he says."

"Umm…" Dingo burbled in confusion.

"The child is under my protection," The voice interrupted, "I suggest you leave, now."

"We were just going," Sleet said weakly, "Dingo, fire up the hover-sled,"

"But…"

"NOW, Dingo!"

"Uh…okay, Sleet." The orange canine ambled back down the fire escape.

The pressure on his neck eased, "Wise choice." The voice whispered. There was a quick flare of light, as if a car or truck had just gone by, and then Sleet found himself alone, with no red oval eyes staring from the shadows. Sleet shivered violently, feeling his flesh crawl as he realised just how close he had been to being skewered. Quickly retrieving his gun and hurrying down the fire escape, wanting to get as far away from this place as possible.

---

"You LET THEM GO?!" Robotnik's livid voice scraped across Sleet's eardrums, causing him to flatten his ears in pain and fear.

"It was just a kid, Dr. Robotnik," Dingo offered meekly.

Robotnik's mechanical hand slammed down the arm of his huge ornate control chair, placing a sizable dent in the metallic surface and casing the delicate circuits beneath to spark and short.

"I do NOT want your EXCUSES!" He ranted, "I ordered to everyone in that house to be detained. That means ALL of them!"

Sleet and Dingo cringed back from Robotnik's fury, frightened eyes fixed on the corpulent figure of their monarch as his face slowly turned as red as his elaborate uniform. But their fear turned into outright terror when Robotnik's eyes narrowed and he slowly smiled.

"Obviously, I am not being clear. You seem to need a better…incentive." His rage seemed to have vanished, his voice now soft and silky.

"What…what did you have in mind, Lord Robotnik?" Sleet said, his voice carrying a hint of a terrified dog-like whine.

"I have had my science-bots working on a new process of nano-bot infusion. Perhaps now is the perfect chance to witness a new test," From somewhere within the folds of his clothes, Robotnik produced a shiny new five-Mobium coin. He smiled, "Do you believe in luck, gentlemen?"

Too scared to speak, the two mercenaries stood mute, staring dumbly at the shiny coin held in Robotnik's meaty hand. A metal finger pointed, first at Dingo, "Heads." He said simply. The finger moved on to point at Sleet, "And tails."

He flipped the coin. The bounty hunters watched transfixed as it sailed into the air, glinting as it span, following the little silver coin with their eyes as it began it's trip back down to earth. The coin was just past its apex when two SWATbots suddenly seized Dingo by the arms and began dragging him down the corridor.

Sleet stared at his employer, struggling to find something to say. A peculiar sound filled the room, and sleet realised with revulsion that Robotnik was chuckling to himself.

"You see, Sleet," Robotnik said conversationally, "Everything on Mobius is subject to my will," He walked past the bounty hunter on his way out the door, following the same path Dingo had unwillingly taken, "Even random chance." He paused just long enough to press the five mobium coin into Sleet's hand.

Sleet lifted the coin and realised that both sides were stamped with the same image of Robotnik's face.

_To Be Continued in 'Edge of the Blade'_


	4. Edge of the Blade

Chapter Three - Edge of the Blade

_Ten years after the Coup_

The ringing sound of guitar chords echoed off the walls of the small house as Sonic the Hedgehog strummed out his favourite tune. Though it was old and battered, scarcely able to hold it's tuning for more than an hour and much afflicted with fret rattle, it was his very own guitar, salvaged from the scrap yard he lived next to and restored as carefully as eleven-year-old hands could manage. The sound it produced from the similarly-salvaged amplifier was muddy and somewhat distorted, but good enough to use to practice with.

"Sonic?" His 'Uncle' Chuck called, walking into the room.

"In here, Unc," Sonic called back. Though they were both hedgehogs, Chuck wasn't his real uncle, but a friend of his foster parents they had met through the Freedom Fighters. Calling him uncle was a convenient thing to tell any nosey teachers or other authority figures as well as having the added bonus of making Sonic feel like he still had something resembling a family.

"Still practicing there, sonny boy?" Chuck asked with an affectionate smile.

"Sure am, Unc," Sonic replied, "'Cos I'm gonna be a famous rock star someday!"

"Well, if you can manage to sound good on that old thing, you can sound good on anything," The older hedgehog chuckled.

Sonic laughed at his Uncle's teasing, "So Unc, what's up?"

Chuck's mood sobered, "I'm going to have some of my colleagues over in an hour or so, Sonny," He said.

Sonic's ears pricked forward, "Freedom Fighters?" He asked eagerly, "What are you planning?"

"Sonic" Chuck said warningly, "You're not old enough to join the Freedom Fighters yet,"

Sonic rolled his eyes, "So you keep sayin', Unc. But I wanna fight Ro-butt-nik! You've let me go out on missions before!"

Chuck pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, "I've let you help out on simple scouting missions, when your speed means you're unlikely to get caught. You're only eleven years old, Sonic,"

"Nearly twelve," Sonic corrected sullenly.

Chuck sighed and reached over to rest his hands on Sonic's shoulders, "I just don't want you getting hurt, okay?" Chuck's dark eyes held Sonic's gaze, "Someday you will join the Freedom Fighters, when you're old enough. But you have to understand that it is dangerous. We're risking our lives all the time, every day, I just want to keep you safe as long as possible, do you understand?"

Sonic's shoulders drooped, the sullen pout vanishing from his expression, "Yeah, Unc, I getcha,"

Chuck patted him gently, "Good. Then you head out and play for awhile, hm? I'll call you back inside when we're done."

"Okay, Unc," Sonic said softly. He carefully put his guitar away and headed towards the door.

"Oh, Sonic?" His uncle called when he reached the door.

"Yeah?"

"Try to avoid attracting too much attention, huh?"

Sonic sighed. 'Not attracting attention' translated as 'Don't use your speed', which meant this would be even more boring than he expected, "All right, Unc," He replied with a groan as he slipped out the door.

Sonic wandered through the scrap yard, kicking irritably at the bits of debris that got in his way. Now that the initial rush of sympathy for his Uncle's point of view had worn off, resentment had quickly rushed in to fill its place. Robotnik and his forces had taken away his family, polluted the skies and water, turned half the population into mindless robotic slaves and forced him to live in hiding, forever careful about what he said and did lest he accidentally reveal Chuck's connection to the Freedom Fighters.

It was a lonely way to exist, sometimes. Though he was fairly popular at the small school he attended, thanks to his cheerful personality and accepting nature as well as his considerable skill at sports, he was never allowed to invite any of his friends over, and forbidden from trying out for the school sports teams in case his most remarkable gift - his super-speed - slipped out of his control and got him noticed. Attracting too much attention was never an option.

"Stupid Robotnik," He muttered, kicking at a rusty can that rolled across his path, "I should be allowed to fight! I got more reason than almost anybody. It ain't like those stupid slo-mo bots could catch me... so why won't Uncle Chuck let me fight?"

"Would you like me to tell you the answer?" A low tenor voice rang through the air from above him. Sonic looked up sharply, dropping clumsily into a fighting crouch. There was a brief dark flicker in his peripheral vision. He turned quickly and saw a dark-cloaked figure perched on top of a wrecked bus, silhouetted by the deep orange glow of the afternoon sun.

Sonic shielded his eyes and tried to make out more details, unable to figure out even the species under that heavy cloak and hood, "Who are you?" he demanded.

The dark figure ignored the question, "You can't fight because you're clumsy, uncoordinated and completely unable to defend yourself. You're weak." The words were spoken flatly, but Sonic head something that sounded suspiciously like disappointment in the tone.

"Shut up!" Sonic snarled, hands curling into fists. His legs bent in preparation for a jump, ready to get to this arrogant asshole that was insulting him and beat him bloody.

The stranger saved him the trouble, though, as with a flare of his cloak he jumped down from the bus to land next to Sonic. Without stopping to think, Sonic charged, completely forgetting his Uncle's injunction against using his speed, wanting nothing more than to spindash this guy into the dirt.

The cloaked figure simply stood there, feet firmly planted on the dusty ground, apparently completely unafraid of Sonic's reckless charge. At the last possible second, he moved; stepping neatly to one side, catching Sonic's ankle with his foot and sending the blue hedgehog sprawling face-first into the ground.

With a growl, Sonic began to roll to his feet to try again, but a flash of bright light flared in his eyes for a second, distracting him. When he regained his footing, he realised that the other figure had settled into a, obvious and classic fighting stance, with a shining sword grasped firmly in one white-gloved hand. Sonic stopped abruptly, the belligerence draining out of him as he realised how outclassed he was.

"If you're ready to listen," That strangely compelling tenor voice spoke again, totally unfazed by Sonic's desperate - and totally failed - attack, "I can correct it for you. Teach you, make you worthy to be a Freedom Fighter, if that's what you want,"

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" Sonic asked, rubbing at his sore nose.

"No one of consequence," The figure replied, "But if you accept, I'll be your teacher. I never go easy on my students and you may grow to hate me, but I will give you what you need to take on Robotnik," The last was spat out with a not inconsiderable amount of venom.

"You're gonna teach me how to fight?" Sonic asked, baffled, "I don't even know you! You could be anybody - hell, you could be working for 'ole Buttnik for all I know!"

The dark stranger snorted in contempt, "I'd rather drown myself than work for that traitorous glob of lard - and if I really wanted to, I could have killed you five times over by now." The stranger looked over the scrapyard briefly, finding a slender metal bar, he reached out with one foot and casually flicked it into the air and caught it in his right hand before handing it over to Sonic. Sonic gripped it uncertainly, giving it a couple of quick swings to get the feel for it.

"Not perfect," The shadowy figure said critically of the metal bar, "but it will do for now. Shall we begin, then?"

Sonic settled into an awkward imitation of the stranger's flawless guard stance, "Sure," He replied uncertainly, resolving that if this got too heavy he could just run for it. But there was one other thing "But if you're gonna be teaching me, I'm gonna need somethin' to call you, right?"

Though Sonic could not make out his features beneath that deeply cowled hood, Sonic got the distinct feeling that the stranger was smiling.

"Yes," He replied at length, "I suppose you will. In that case you can call me... Maestro."

The soft, amused tone vanished with his next words and his voice suddenly cracked like a whip, "Now, your first lesson will be about footwork. Always remember the first principle of defence - If all else fails, defend with the feet! You can't get hit if you aren't there."

"So, run away?"

That strange hidden smile was back, "Indeed," Maestro replied, "But first, to correct your stance..."

For some inexplicable reason, Sonic found himself smiling.

_To Be Continued in 'Destiny's Force'_


	5. Destiny's Force

Chapter Four - Destiny's Force

_Fourteen Years after the Coup_

The sound of metal against metal rang out across the deserted scrap yard, the fiery rays of the setting sun reflecting off the shining surfaces of the swords wielded by two Mobians as they circled around one another warily, swords flickering out in the rapid dance of thrust, cut and parry.

"Watched your guard on your right," The being in the long, cowled cloak said sharply, tapping the other Mobian's right arm smartly to emphasise his point.

"Ouch!" His blue-quilled opponent winced, quickly moving his blade into a better guard position and circling for another attack. They were like that for awhile, slow, wary circling with occasional quick, darting movements to find an opening, then a flash of metal almost quicker than the eye could see.

"Very good," Shadow called, disengaging from Sonic's blade.

"Thanks, Maestro," Sonic panted, stepping back and resting the tip of his 'sword' against the floor. It wasn't much more than a crudely hammered length of metal, with cloth and wire wrapped around one end to make a hilt, but it was of the correct weight and balance to make a decent practice blade.

Shadow nodded, "You did well today, but remember to keep up that guard on your upper right - I tapped you there several times."

Sonic sighed, "But you usually come at me from the left"

"I happen to be left-handed, that's expected. But you can't neglect any guard - Robotnik's robots are ambidextrous - the ones with only two arms, anyway - and any Mobian enemy you face will likely be right-handed." Shadow glared at him sternly, though he knew Sonic probably couldn't see his expression due to the hood.

"Okay, okay," Sonic said, holding up his hands, "I'll work on it, I promise." Then he glanced briefly at his watch.

Shadow raised an unseen eyebrow, "Have somewhere to be?"

"Actually, yeah," Sonic replied with a grin, "Uncle Chuck's finally letting me go on a mission." Sonic's tone was excited and triumphant, but Shadow's mouth twisted into a frown.

"Hmm."

"C'mon, Maestro, aren't you happy for me?" Sonic's expression became something akin to a pout. Shadow sighed.

"That depends. What sort of mission is it?"

Sonic answered cautiously, giving only very basic details - presumably he had been instructed not to reveal anything important.

"As long as you take care, and remember everything I've taught you." Shadow said eventually.

"Heh, always." Sonic replied with a cheerful smile and a thumbs up. Shadow only just managed to keep his reserved expression and posture - Sonic's mercurial moods could be infectious.

"Then maybe we should call a halt here, so you can prepare for your mission."

Shadow drew himself up and saluted his pupil with a flourish. Sonic returned the intricate sword salute and Shadow sheathed his blade.

"So, I guess I'll see you on Thursday, huh?" Sonic said.

"Yes." Shadow replied, folding his arms.

"Cool," Sonic turned and wrapped his practice blade up in the heavy linen he kept it in, "See you then, Maestro!"

"Good bye, Sonic," Shadow murmured back as Sonic dashed off back to his Uncle's home, "And good luck."

Shadow turned and silently made his way through the city and back to the tiny, cramped apartment he called home. Sparsely decorated, with basic furniture and white-painted walls, it was placed above a bar, and got noisy at night, but Shadow had learned how to filter out noise and distractions from his many years in the Royal Army - besides, the bar's owner was friendly, and let him work there when he needed money. It was suitable for his minimal needs.

Pulling off the heavy cloak, he hung it on a peg behind the door and entered the kitchen. Fixing himself a simple meal of a sandwich and a glass of juice he returned to the box-like living room, with its single battered couch and small stereo system. He had never bothered owning a TV, never having liked the nonsense that dribbled off the screen for the entertainment of the stupefied masses. All the TV channels were owned by Robotnik, anyway. Shadow far preferred to relax with some music, and had managed to acquire a decent collection over the years, everything from classical to rock and metal. Putting on some soft rock music, he leaned back and ate his sandwich while he contemplated his day.

Sonic had come along very well with his training. Not just with the sword; Shadow had painstakingly taught him how to sneak, how to avoid being tracked, techniques involved in escaping from a prison camp or jail cell, unarmed combat and wilderness survival. Over the four and a bit years he had been teaching, Sonic had grown really quite competent.

No, Shadow thought with a shake of his head, that wasn't fair. Sonic had actually turned into a graceful and efficient fighter, swift and accurate with his strikes, sometimes reckless in his attacks, but rarely actually overextending himself. With a proper sword in his hands, Sonic would truly be quite deadly.

Hmm, now that was a thought. Sonic's fifteenth birthday was coming up soon, and a decent sword would probably make a fine gift.

Finishing the last bite of his sandwich, he stood and went over to a small cabinet in the corner of the room. He had managed to rescue a few items from his quarters after the Coup, and this cabinet contained almost all of them. Unlocking it, he pulled out a long wooden box and flicked it open to admire the elegant sidesword nestled within the velvet-padded case. Heavier than a rapier, but lighter and with better hand protection than a longsword, this sword would probably suit Sonic's cut-and-thrust fighting style quite well. Shadow drew it reverentially from its box, inspecting it for rust and other damage. He doubted there would be any. Though Lieutenant Vector had died many years ago, the care he had taken with this blade remained apparent.

Shadow smiled sadly as he remembered his former lieutenant and his very first command. He had spent over ten years working his way up the ranks, battling suspicion and prejudice surrounding his origins and background until finally being given command of a squad.

He hadn't realised it at the time, but this particular assignment was considered by command to be a poisoned chalice. The Chaotix Squad, as they were nicknamed, were a group of oddballs, eccentrics and troublemakers. None of them had over done anything bad enough to warrant being kicked out of the army, so they had been shunted sideways into this dead-end unit. When Shadow had first met them, they had been stubborn, resentful and difficult but Shadow had seen something in each of them, something special and unique. Despite their eccentricities - or perhaps even because of them - he had moulded them into what became one of the best elite squads in the entire army. He had valued their skills, and they had respected his leadership.

Yes, he could imagine Vector approving of Sonic. The gift was appropriate, then.

He glanced at a clock briefly, realising he had only ten minutes until his shift in the bar began. Quickly pulling on a jacket with the name of the bar scrawled across the back, he made his way downstairs.

"Well hello, Seth, honey," Rouge, the bar's owner, cooed at him, greeting him by the name he had assumed after the Coup.

"Hello Rouge," He said simply. The bat pouted slightly at his reserved greeting, but shrugged and returned to counting up the booze stock for tonight, "Johnny's gonna be late, so you're on 'til Midnight. That okay, honey?"

Shadow shrugged, "Sure." He said. It suited him. If the Freedom Fighters kept to their usual patterns, Sonic's mission would not being until 1am, giving him plenty of time to get to Sonic's location and watch over him. He wanted to be there to see his pupil's debut solo mission.

"Never were much of a talker, huh, Seth?" Rouge said in an amused tone.

Shadow smirked at her, then went over to assume his place just outside the main entrance while Rouge began opening up. Looking up into the clouded sky, he briefly thought of the excited light in Sonic's eyes and hoped that everything turned out okay.

Sonic. Everything seemed to come back to him, somehow. Soon it would be the Eldest Prince's fifteenth birthday had things turned out differently, that would be the age at which hed be permitted to begin paying court to the young Crown Prince. Allowed to give gifts and take walks together, to enjoy one anothers company at concerts and balls all under the strictest of supervision, of course. Sonic would have known Shadow all his life, would be familiar and comfortable with the other hedgehogs presence.

But things had not turned out that way. Instead of the Royal Palace, Sonic lived in a shack next to a junk yard, and instead of the comfortable quarters in the Army Barracks, |Shadow lived in a dingy apartment above a bar. Apart from those twice-weekly fighting lessons, they were virtual strangers. Shadow was Sonics teacher and protector, not his suitor and he would never dream of taking advantage of the younger hedgehog. This was a different world, with different rules.

No matter what the damned prophecy said.

---

The night air was cold and the limp grass beneath his feet beaded and slick with dew. His breath frosted in the air as he gazed intently at the dimly-lit face of his watch, waiting for the exact moment he would need to go.

Five seconds.

As the second hand ticked down, Sonic dropped himself into a runner's starting pose, legs angled behind him, the tips of his shoes digging into the ground, fingers poised in front of him, lighting touching the earth, supporting his weight.

Three seconds.

He could see the shifting light of the energy shield surrounding the factory from here. That shield was why he was out here, rather than any of the more experienced Freedom Fighters - he was the only one with the speed to get past that shield.

One second.

He coiled like a spring, his muscles quivering in anticipation. Get in, plant the explosives, get out. No problem.

Go.

Muscles uncoiled as Sonic shot forward. He accelerated towards the glowing red light of the shield, feeling the push of the atmospheric phenomenon that shared his name. He pushed harder against the sonic wind, harnessing the power and adrenaline running through his veins. The sound barrier broke, leaving the whip-crack sound of a sonic boom trailing along far behind him.

The red shield filled his vision now. He snatched a quick breath, lowering his head slightly as he charged into it at top speed. Pain buzzed violently through his nerves, scorching his fur and quills and making his steps falter for a fraction of an instant.

Then it was over. Dragging in a ragged breath, he sped up again, evading the robots and other equipment in his path, he dropped the first of the explosive charges. He kept going, running around or leaping over any equipment or debris in his way as he lay the charges in the pattern he had been told before he headed towards the area he would be using as an exit.

Then he realised. That tiny, fractional stop as he had powered through the shield had thrown off his timing - he wasn't going to get out in time to escape the blast radius.

Frantic, he tried to summon up more speed, but his muscles still burned from the shock they had taken coming through the shield and refused to yield any more energy to him.

Leaping desperately over the wall that surrounded the factory compound, he heard the first 'BOOM' as the explosives went off, followed in rapid succession by a string of similar explosions. A burning hot wind caught him when he reached the apex of his jump, and he screamed as he felt it frying the quills on his back. Succumbing to hedgehog instinct, he curled up into a ball as the shockwave drove him violently into the dirt. He rolled, his sharp quills driving a furrow in the earth with the force of his impact.

Smoke, steam and tears blurred his vision as he tried to open his eyes. His ears rang with a constant high-pitched whine, deafening him to any other sound, every inch of him was shrieking in pain. He uncurled and tried to stand, but his limbs wouldn't support him. Trembling, he collapsed back into the crater his impact had created. His vision seemed to narrow, black borders taking up his field of vision as everything seemed to grow distant, even the ringing in his ears fading away until, mercifully, he passed out.

The night faded back into stillness, save for the burning light and crackle of flames from the immolated factory. In a flare of light barely distinguishable from the flickering firelight, Shadow arrived.

The darker hedgehog couldn't suppress a sharp, horrified intake of breath when he saw the state his student was in.

"Sonic" He breathed with a sigh and a shake of his head, "What am I going to do with you?"

With infinite care and gentleness, Shadow knelt down to gather up the unconscious cobalt hedgehog into his arms. Narrowing his eyes, Shadow gathered up the threads of chaos energy and whispered,

"_Chaos control!_"

---

Far away, in the dark, metallic command centre in the centre of a city that had once been known as Mobotropolis, Lord Robotnik sat brooding on his throne-like control chair. He glared out at the cityscape, his vast orange moustache twitching in irritation as he contemplated the recent destruction of one of his more prominent factories - despite the powerful force shield he had installed to prevent sabotage.

A small roughly cylindrical robot came gliding in just then, a data pad held loosely in one of its many appendages.

"Well?" Robotnik demanded of the machine.

"The analysis from the sensors at Factory 2015-b, Sir." The robot buzzed in reply.

"I know that, blockhead!" Robotnik thundered, "What does it _say_?"

"Subject responsible for sabotage of Factory 2015-b was a single target. Subject circumvented the force-shield by attaining supersonic speeds."

"Super-sonic?" Robotnik growled, "Have those accursed Freedom Fighters acquired a supersonic jet, now?"

"Negative, Sir," The robot replied in its flat monotone, "Subject is confirmed as organic."

Robotnik's eyes widened, and somewhere in his blackened heart he felt a tiny shiver of fear.

'_Impossible! It couldn't be_ him.' Robotnik thought to himself, '_He was killed during the assault on the palace. Even if he did escape somehow, why would he wait fourteen years to make his move?_'

"Anything else?" Robotnik demanded of the robot in a dangerous quiet voice that suggested that there better be something more, or this particular robot would end up in a slag-pit.

"Subject was... blue, sir." The robot said with just the slightest hint of hesitation.

"Blue?!" Robotnik said incredulously.

"Yes, sir."

"Go back and re-analyse that data!" He snarled, his face flushed with barely-contained fury, "And don't come back here unless you have something useful to report!"

"Yes, sir!" The robot said as it shot out of the room as fast as its repulsors could carry it.

Robotnik slumped back on his chair, moustache twitching once again.

'_Blue not_ him, _then. Then who? Who else would have that power?_'

---

Everything felt blurred and distant to Sonic the Hedgehog as he floated serenely above the agony and exhaustion. He was distantly aware of things happening around him, but couldn't seem to actually connect with them. His ears twitched as he heard a soft male voice speak to him, the comforting sensation of being carefully carried - a sudden burst of light and a feeling of indescribable power that went with it. Then soft cushions, his uncle's voice reassuring him, cool, soothing things rubbed into his skin. It was all so very far away and the burning pain was still there, beneath the surface. He slipped away into unconsciousness once again.

Then; warm, soft light penetrated the dark blanket of unconsciousness, easing his pain, lending him strength, calling him back into wakefulness.

"Mrrrggghhh?" Sonic groaned groggily as he cracked open his eyes. As the room slowly came into focus, he realised someone was standing over him, and it wasn't anyone he recognised. Fighting reflexes kicked in, and his tried to jump into a clear space to prepare for a fight, only to find his body was sluggish and wouldn't react. He stumbled, almost falling off the sofa he was sprawled on.

"Who are you?" Sonic demanded of the stranger, "And what've you done to me?"

The odd-looking stranger held up his hands in a peaceable gesture, "I am the Oracle of Dephius, young Prince Sonic," He introduced himself with a short bow, "As for what I have done to you I have merely healed your injuries. As a consequence, you may feel tired and drained, since such healing does draw much on your body's resources."

Sonic mulled that over, "Fine, thanks for the help. Now, where's my Uncle Chuck?" Sonic's gaze remained fixed on this 'oracle', his eyes hard and suspicious.

The Oracle sighed and bowed his head, "That is why I came here, Prince Sonic. This place can no longer serve as your safe haven. Your Uncle Charles was captured by Robotnik's forces when he tried to procure medical aid for you."

Sonic gasped, guilt stabbing into him sharper than any knife, "No! We gotta help him!"

The Oracle shook his head, "I'm afraid it is too late for that. Charles has already been subject to the worst horror Robotnik can impose upon those that defy him."

Roboticised. Despite the flowery language, Sonic understood exactly what the Oracle meant and felt his heart sink like a stone, the first flash of grief and loss clenching around his stomach.

"You must run, young Prince, lest Robotnik's forces come for you, next. The time has come for you to reunite with the rest of your siblings."

Anger flashed through Sonic's eyes as he glared up at the Oracle, "Look, pal, can you just talk sense? Why the hell do you keep calling me 'Prince'?!"

The Oracle smiled fractionally, "I apologise. I will attempt to explain properly"

A thoughtful look then crossed Sonic's face and he held up a staying hand, "Wait - hold up. Did you say I had... siblings?"

---

Late evening on Thursday, Shadow arrived in the junk yard, wrapped as usual in his heavy cloak to engage in his usual training session with Sonic. At least, it would be if the younger hedgehog was recovered by now. Shadow hoped he was, as under his cloak he carried the box containing the sidesword he intended to give to Sonic as an early birthday gift.

The area was still and silent, which made Shadow raise an eyebrow instantly. Usually Sonic would be waiting for him, practicing his form or simply running laps around the junkyard, so the noise was distinctive. This time, there was nothing.

Stepping into the clear area they usually practiced in, Shadow kept one hand on his sabre hilt and stepped cautiously into the clearing. Straight away, he noticed something wrong.

Sonic's practice blade was stuck point-first into the hard-packed earth and, wrapped untidily around the hilt, was a scrap of paper, its edges fluttering in the erratic evening breeze.

Still feeling wary, he carefully stepped towards the blade and gingerly unwrapped the note from the hilt. It was a note, written in Sonic's careless scrawl.

_Maestro,_

_Sorry I couldn't say this in person but I wouldn't to tell you somehow. _

_The bad guys got my Uncle Chuck, so I gotta leave. First thing you ever taught me was to defend with my feet so I'm following your advice. Don't know where I'm gonna go yet, but turns out I've got some family I didn't know I had, so I think I gotta go find them._

_Thanks for everything you've done for me, and all the lessons I've learned from you. You've taught me a lot - not just about fighting. _

_I hope I can see you again someday. _

_Sonic._

The note crumpled in Shadow's suddenly tight grip. A sense of loss wailed through Shadow's soul. Sonic's trail would be cold by now and he had taught Sonic all the tricks to avoid being followed.

Now it seems he had taught the younger hedgehog rather too well, since it meant he would have no way to track Sonic now.

Despite everything he had promised, all the oaths he had sworn, it seemed that Shadow had failed in his most important duty - to defend the Crown Prince.

But despite that awful guilt, something else cut still deeper:

He would miss Sonic's company.

_To be continued in Chapter Five - 'On The Run'_


	6. On The Run

Chapter Five - On The Run

_Fifteen years after the coup_

A small campfire burned fitfully within the small forest grove, casting its red-orange light onto the circle of trees that surrounded this tiny clearing deep within the woods. A single dark figure sat on a fallen log, cautiously tending the fire, his red eyes seeming to burn even brighter than the flames.

Another figure stepped out of the gloom of the woods, wrapped in a cloak and hood that served as both disguise and protection from the damp chill of the night-time air. She raised one elegant hand to sweep back her hood to reveal a head of purple-pink quills and dark, troubled eyes.

Manners drilled into him by five decades of practice prompted him to stand and offer her his seat - not that it was much of a seat, being only a log with his cloak draped over it, but still a better option than the wet, leaf-strewn ground.

"Aleena." Shadow said softly, "It's good to see you again."

"Shadow," She said fondly, "It has been a long time." With a slightly impish smile, she took the makeshift seat he had offered, sinking down onto it and staring at the fire. After a few moments of tense silence, Shadow approached his queen and knelt down in front of her.

"My Queen," He intoned formally, "I have to inform you that I have failed you."

She stared at him, taken aback, "What do you mean, Shadow?"

He looked down at the floor, unable to meet her eyes, "I was meant to guard the Crown Prince, and I failed in that task. I do not know where he is."

"Oh, Shadow..." She sighed, "You haven't failed. Sonic had to learn to survive on his own."

He raised his head, "You knew..?" He asked incredulously.

She sighed deeply, "The Oracle told me." Shadow got to his feet, eyes narrowed in rage. Aleena held out a hand to stay his outburst, "Please, Shadow, listen. The Oracle contacted Sonic to warn him that he was no longer safe-,"

"It's MY responsibility to defend the Royal Family, especially the Crown Prince! You gave me that task yourself the night you put Sonic into my arms!" Shadow snarled angrily.

"You were never meant to be Sonic's bodyguard, Shadow." Aleena said quietly.

Shadow froze. His breathing hitched in his chest for a moment, then anger suddenly began swelling up in him.

"I am over forty years his senior," Shadow ground out through gritted teeth, "The Oracle and all his prophecies be damned, I will not hold a sixteen year old boy in thrall!"

Aleena shook her head, "But that isn't what bonding entails, Shadow "

Shadow stared at her incredulously, "And you approve of this? You? Your oldest son, the Crown Prince and the last hope Mobius has, bound as an _infant_ to an old man, and none of it strikes you as wrong? Because that is what I am, Aleena, I'm _old_. My body may be eternally stuck at eighteen, but I'm _fifty-eight years old. _How can anyone think I would be an appropriate companion and mate to Sonic? Especially after... after..." He trailed off, his anger bleeding out of him, pain and decades-old loss seeping in to fill the void. He drew a couple of harsh breaths, looking away from his queen's sympathetic eyes, "I apologise for my outburst, Your Majesty." He said stiffly when he had composed himself.

The deposed queen gathered the folds of her cloak about her, wrapping herself up in them, "What happened fifty years ago wasn't your fault, Shadow. How long will it be until you finally accept that?"

He didn't reply. He kept his eyes averted from her face, his expression locked into an impassive mask. She sighed and considered her knight and former bodyguard for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She had to make him understand somehow, or all she had ever hoped and strived for over these long years of her exile would be for naught.

"You know that my eldest son is different, don't you, Shadow?" She began, pitching her voice in an almost conversational tone. She watched him, only long association allowed her to catch the tiny flicker in his expression, "His agility and super-speed. You above all others should know what that means."

"Chaos touched..." Shadow whispered, a haunted look passing over his eyes for a split-second.

"He'll need, you Shadow. You're the only one who could ever be his equal, the only one who could ever keep up with him. You know that, don't you?"

Shadow closed his eyes and turned away. He knew what being chaos-touched meant. He knew better than most how dangerous chaos power could be when uncontrolled and how utterly unforgiving people were towards those who were different. Even after fifty years, the pain that knowledge caused him had not dimmed.

"I know." He breathed.

"Good. Then you'll understand why I never raised an objection when you recognised your future mate."

Understanding flashed across Shadow's features, "You knew you knew all along that Sonic would be chaos-touched! But how..?"

The Queen's eyes were clouded when she answered, "Once in every five generations of the ancient Royal Acorn line, the eldest child is born with the powers of Chaos." she said in the manner of someone quoting.

Shadow blinked, "That doesn't sound like one of the Oracle's prophecies."

"It isn't," Aleena replied, "It's far older than that. Dating back to the Great War and the Reformation. I study history, I knew that my eldest would have those powers. I was so scared for him, Shadow, scared of what he'd be capable of, scared for his future after everything the Oracle told me. But now I know you'll be by his side, I don't feel so afraid."

Stunned speechless, Shadow could only stare, completely bowled over by his Queen's absolute trust in him. Aleena offered him a gentle smile, then shifted her demeanour into a more professional air.

"Now, as lovely as it is to be able to talk with you again, Shadow, I did call you here for a reason."

Shaking himself out of his stunned shock, he tried to keep his voice level, "What reason is that, Your Majesty?"

"Guardian Athair has been in contact with me. His grandson, Knuckles, will be going through his initiation soon. He wanted you to be there."

"Me?" Shadow asked incredulously, "Why me?" The relationship between the Acorn Kingdom and the Emerald Guardians had always been wary. There was an ancient pact that kept the peace between them, but the Guardians were traditionally clannish and secretive, hiding away on their island in the sky protecting the precious jewel that was their primary responsibility. Shadow had met Athair once or twice before the coup when the old echidna made one of his rare appearances at one of the official ceremonies, but it had been almost two decades since he had laid eyes on the Guardian Patriarch.

"The first reason is political, you'll be there as a representative of the Acorn Kingdom Government-in-exile to demonstrate to the Echidna council that we still intend to honour the pact. As for the other reason..." She sighed, "The line of the Guardians is fading, Shadow. There's only one Echidna in the current generation capable of harnessing the Master Emerald's power. Athair's son Locke was killed in an accident years ago, and there are only a few other Echidna's left - and fewer every year. Athair is old and his own power is waning. He wanted someone else there with the power to use Chaos Control, to prevent any accidents."

Shadow considered that. His presence there would be a symbol, but a powerful one. The Guardians had their own prophecies, and worked by their own agenda, but in the situation he and the royal family were in, they really couldn't turn down any potential for forming alliances.

"Very well, My Queen." He agreed with a nod. She shook her head.

"How many times? You're supposed to call me Aleena." Without waiting for his reply, she gathered her skirts and stood up, "Your transport to Angel Island will be waiting for you just outside the Mystic Ruins tomorrow," She pulled up her hood and shadows obscured her face, "And look after Sonic for me, won't you?" She said as she began to walking back into the dark forest.

"How can I do that when I don't know where he is?" He asked, frustrated.

Her answer ghosted out of the darkness, "When he calls you, you'll know."

Then there was nothing but the whistling of the wind through the trees.

---

Many miles away, far across the continent, a heavily modified hover bus sat parked down a lonely side street in central Starlight City. Its bulky contours lit only by the dimly flickering bulb of the streetlamp above it. Inside the rusting hull of the old hover bus, three teenage hedgehogs sat sleeping, ensconced in their bunk beds.

Manic lay sprawled across one top bunk, his face mashed carelessly into the pillow, his loud snores muffled by the soft material. Sonia lay on her side on the bottom bunk of the other set of beds, her privacy crudely protected by a thick curtain draped across the open side of her bunk, she also slept deeply.

Sonic slept on the bunk beneath his brother, but his sleep was less peaceful. The blankets twisted around his lower legs, trapping him in place as he tossed and turned, muttering something indecipherable under his breath. His expression twisted alternately into pain, rage and guilt as his muscles twitched in the grip of his dream.

Finally roused by her brothers anguished thrashing, Sonia woke, slipping out from behind her curtain, she padded over and stooped down next to Sonic's bunk, lightly gripping his shoulder and firmly shaking him awake.

"Sonic," She called softly, "Sonic, wake up. You're having a nightmare again."

It was an unfortunate consequence of what they had been through that all three of them had more than enough reason to suffer from nightmares. In fact, considering how much danger they were in on a day to day basis, Sonia was surprised they ever managed to get a decent nights sleep.

Sonic's eyes snapped open and he stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment before his eyes cleared and he relaxed.

"Thanks, Sis," He murmured, reaching up to scrub his hands across his face.

"No problem, brother," Sonia smiled. Like Sonic, she still found having siblings to be a novelty, albeit one with its own share of annoyances as well as more positive qualities, so they tended to mention the fact of their familiar bond fairly often, like a touchstone.

"Yo sibs, what's up?" Manic's sleep-slurred voice came from above them. Sonia looked up.

"Nothing much, Manic," She replied, "Sonic just had a nightmare again."

"Bummer," Manic sympathised, peering down at his blue-furred sibling, "What was it this time, Bro? Drowning? Giant bugs? Ro-butt-nik in a French maid's outfit?"

Sonic grimaced in revulsion at the last suggestion, and then looked uncomfortable, "It wasn't exactly a nightmare" He muttered.

Sonia snorted, "Sure looked like one to me, brother," Sonia said stridently, "All that thrashing around and muttering."

Manic smirked and was about to make a suggestive comment when Sonic shook his head and spoke, "All I could see were these red eyes. He was in pain, but I couldn't get to him to help."

There was silence for a moment as Sonic's siblings considered that.

"Who was he?" Sonia asked.

Sonic shrugged, "No idea, sis. It just felt like I knew him somehow."

"Hmph," Sonia said dismissively, "Probably just someone from your past. Your subconscious just mixed it up with that jail-break we pulled last week. Dreams are like that."

"Or maybe you've got a true bondmate out there someplace," Manic added in what his siblings referred to as his 'spacey' voice.

Sonia rolled her eyes, "Manic, Bonded Lifemates don't really exist. It's pure superstition."

"They totally do!" Manic protested, "Like, when I was a kid I knew this couple called Adele and Marcus, and they were bonded. One night Marcus got busted rippin' off some stereos, and Adele knew what had happened pretty much before they got the cuffs on him!"

"Uh huh." Sonia said sceptically.

"It's true, sis!" Manic insisted, "Adele said we had to bust him out, so we did and she led us right to him without even tryin'. Was like she knew exactly where he was."

"I'm sure there's a better explanation for that than she just 'sensed' him"

Sonic briefly tuned out the sounds of his brother and sisters argument to think for a moment. Maybe Sonia was right and he was just remembering another pair of red eyes. He thought about Maestro often, and though he had never seen his mentor's face beneath that deep hood he wore, Sonic had occasionally managed to catch a glimpse of his eyes and they were the same deep, burning red as the eyes he saw in his dreams.

Because that was a small fact he hadn't mentioned to Manic and Sonia - tonight's incident wasn't the first time he had seen that garnet-coloured gaze in his dreams, it had in fact been happening for almost a year now. Every time it happened, the emotions in those eyes were different - pain, regret, anger, loss had all be there and every time Sonic wished there was something he could do to help the other male. He kept getting this nagging sensation that there was something missing - something he needed to do, but he never got any clues as to what that might be.

By now the argument between Manic and Sonia had degenerated into an endless repetition of 'Does so! Does not!' so Sonic called a time-out, making a 'T' shape with his hands.

"Guys! What time is it, anyway?"

Manic glanced at the glowing numbers on the face of his watch, "Around 4am, dude,"

"Well, we got a big gig tomorrow, right? We should probably get back to sleep."

"With you on that one, bro," Manic affirmed, followed by a slightly less enthusiastic reply from Sonia.

Sonic lay his head back down onto his pillow, trying to fill his head with thoughts of the gig to distract himself, but a thought kept intruding, the image of those crimson eyes, filled with pain and something that burned in them like reflected fire.

'_Is that you, Maestro?_' he wondered, _'And why does it feel like something's missing?_'

---

_To Be Continued in Chapter Six - 'The Calling of a Miracle'_


	7. The Calling of a Miracle

Chapter Six – The Calling of a Miracle

The rickety old sea plane that Shadow was currently aboard wobbled drunkenly through the air, its ancient engines sputtering and straining to keep the patched fuselage in the air as it made its uncertain way from the coast near the Mystic Ruins over the ocean to the home of the remains of the Echidna tribe – Angel Island.

"This isn't the most comfortable journey I've ever made in my life." Shadow muttered to himself as the plane lurched once again, making Shadow glad he hadn't bothered to eat anything for the past day or so.

"We're almost over the island now, Sir." The pilot – a grizzled old wolf – called to him from the cockpit, "The parachutes are in the storage locker on the right."

Shadow smirked, "I won't need one."

"But sir…"

"Just tell me when we're over the island and open the hatch." Shadow cut him off, "I can handle myself."

"Yes, sir."

The plane slowed as it began to dive down towards the large island gleaming impossibly in the sky. Shadow watched from the window as the ground started to loom closer.

"This is as close as I can get, sir." The pilot said.

"Good," Shadow replied, removing the Chaos Emerald from his quills as the pilot opened the hatch. The sudden change in air pressure made his ears pop, wind threatening to yank him out of the plane and almost drowning out his cry of "Chaos control!"

As the light around him faded, Shadow found himself standing on a hill above what seemed to be a forest made of giant mushrooms. The grass beneath his feet was soft and everything seemed fresh and clean. After so long living in the cities poisoned by Robotnik, this spot of greenery seemed very idyllic to his senses.

Or it did, until a large, spiked fist whizzed half an inch past his face, only Shadow's razor-sharp reflexes saving him from a very humiliating knock to the head.

Diving into a roll and back to his feet again to face his attacker, Shadow realised that his opponent was an echidna, which was in equal parts worrying and comforting. Comforting that none of Robotnik's lackeys had made their way to this floating sanctuary, but worrying in that his alleged hosts were now attacking him.

"Get off my island!" The red echidna snarled at him, his large fists held up in an offensive guard stance, his wicked-looking spiked knuckles pointing threateningly in his direction.

Shadow settled nonchalantly into a light defensive stance, "Your island?" he asked sardonically, "I thought the Echidnas had a council of elders, not a king."

The red echidna snarled, "I don't care what you thought!" He spat back, "You're an intruder here and I want you gone, NOW!"

Shadow smirked in a way he knew a hot-head like this echidna would find completely infuriating, "Why don't you try and make me leave?"

The echidna's violet eyes lit up with fury and he charged blindly, his sharp fists extended. Shadow waited until the last possible instant, then jumped nimbly out of the way, doing a smooth flip over the echidna's dreadlocked head to land behind him and following up with a full sweep of the legs. Though the echidna was solidly built and too heavy for the move to completely knock him down, it did make him stagger, allowing Shadow a moment to regain his guard stance and evaluate he terrain.

This area was almost entirely made up of gently rolling hills, low-lying scrub-brush and those towering mushroom-trees. No real cover, no major obstacles. If he wanted, Shadow could just make a dash for it, running towards the rough centre of the island where he was meant to meet up with Athair. However, he had no idea about what lay between here and his ultimate goal, and this echidna knew the terrain on the island far better than he did, which meant that Shadow's journey would very likely be interrupted.

No, far better that he face down this young hot-head now and get it over with. It shouldn't take all that long to teach this young upstart a lesson.

Shadow noticed with some amusement that the young echidna was also giving him the once-over, trying to find weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Shadow sincerely doubted he would find any – he was the Ultimate Life Form after all.

"You gonna use that sword or is it just for decoration?" The red echidna taunted. Shadow narrowed his eyes.

"I wasn't planning to waste it on the likes of you." Shadow replied coldly, "But since you insist…" Shadow whipped the sword from its sheath, ensuring the blade made its impressive and intimidating 'shing!' noise as the blade caught the metal lip of the scabbard.

"Hmph," The echidna grunted, "Somehow I didn't think you were quite like those 'nobles' with the useless little knitting-needles they carry."

Shadow made no reply to this back-handed compliment, merely shifting his sabre into a ready stance, his hand slightly extended, sword angled diagonally across his body, its tip level with his right shoulder as he waited.

There was a tense pause as they stared at each other for a moment, then the echidna shot forward, fist drawn back to take aim at his right knee. With easy grace, Shadow pivoted on his left foot, moving his right leg easily out of harm's way and simultaneously bringing the flat of his sabre blade down in a hard 'smack' against the echidna's skull.

"Ooof!" The echidna gasped as the blow sent him tumbling into ground. Shadow jumped away to a clear patch of ground and again settled into his ready stance. The echidna scrambled to his feet with a growl, this time dropping into a fighting half-crouch, face almost hidden behind those oversized fists.

'_Time to go on the offensive.'_ Shadow thought. With a few lightning-quick steps he lunged at the echidna, who managed to catch and deflect the initial strike with the back of his hand, causing the blade to cut deeply into the heavily-padded glove he was wearing. Impressed by the echidna's reflexes, Shadow altered his aim, sweeping the blunt reverse of the sabre blade straight into the echidna's gut, making him double over and gasp for breath.

Stumbling back into his defensive crouch again, the echidna glared at him, the faintest traces of respect in his violet eyes, "You using that left-handed to handicap yourself, then? Don't want to face me with your full skill?" He said, still gasping to regain his air, annoyance clear in his voice.

"No," Shadow replied, amused, "I really am left-handed."

There was another pause before the echidna made another move, this time feinting with a jab to the right before rolling to the left, aiming for Shadow's ribs.

By now beginning to bore of this fight, Shadow drew on the power of the emerald nestled in his quills and called out, '"Chaos CONTROL!" the world flashed in rainbow light for a moment as time slowed to a crawl. The red echidna was frozen in the air as he dove towards the place Shadow had been stood. The black hedgehog danced nimbly around him, swinging his sword as he did so, bringing the hilt of his sabre down on the back of the echidna's head in a sharp pommel-strike. As time began to speed up again, the echidna's motion was now downwards rather than forwards, which Shadow encouraged with a hard axe-kick to the echidna's back, sending him crashing to the ground. Before his erstwhile opponent could climb to his feet again, Shadow placed his foot in between his shoulder blades and held the tip of his sword to the echidna's throat.

"Now that I have your attention, I will explain a few things to you." Shadow said sharply, "I am not an intruder, I am an invited guest. I was asked to come here by Queen Aleena Acorn to be her representative, and no idiotic challenges from fools like you will prevent me from fulfilling my duty to her. Do you understand?"

The echidna squirmed slightly, a dazed look on his face, "Grandfather invited you here?"

Shadow only just barely bit back a groan, "I'm here for _your_ initiation?"

"It wasn't my idea!" the echidna that he was now fairly sure was Knuckles growled back, "I can handle my own initiation just fine without interference from outsiders like you!"

"Of course you can." Shadow said mockingly. Then he sighed and moved his sword and his foot, allowing Knuckles – if that was his name - to get to his feet.

The echidna glared at him as he dusted himself off, wincing when his hands touched the tender spots where Shadow had struck him, and then something seemed to occur to him, "You cheated." He said matter-of-factly.

Shadow raised an eye-ridge even as he sheathed his sword.

"You used Chaos Control," Knuckles accused, "Wasn't exactly a fair fight."

"I wasn't aware it was supposed to be a formal duel," Shadow growled in reply, "Now, are you going to take me to Athair or do we have to go for Round Two?"

Knuckles rolled his eyes, "Whatever. It's this way." He said, pointing a thumb towards the central hub of the island, "Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Shadow the Hedgehog, First Knight of the Acorn Realm."

"Huh. Well, I'm Knuckles, but I guess you knew that."

Shadow grunted disinterestedly. Knuckles snorted, then broke into a jog as they began to move over the rolling hills towards the islands center. When Shadow quickened his pace slightly, Knuckles grinned and began to lengthen his stride into a proper run.

"Think you can keep up?" Knuckles taunted.

Shadow rolled his eyes and ignited his jet shoes, sliding forwards to easily outpace the red echidna. "Yes." He said matter-of-factly as he sailed past. Knuckles stared at him for a moment, then a grin spread across his face as he ran after the black hedgehog. The chase was on.

They raced for awhile across the island, over the rolling mushroom-dotted hills, across the red-hot sands and through the ancient ruins and right into the fiery heart of the semi-dormant volcano at the island's heart. Shadow's raw speed gave him the edge over level terrain, but Knuckles seemed to know every single secret tunnel and shortcut as well as possessing an impressive ability to scale walls using little more than his spiked fists and pure strength.

They remained almost level until they finally reached the exact centre of the island – the most ancient, sacred place the echidnas possessed – the Hidden Palace and the Emerald Shrine it contained.

Skidding to a stop at the foot of the stairs that lead up to the Emerald Chamber, Shadow looked up at the huge stone door that loomed up on front of him. Knuckles arrived an instant later, breathing hard from his exertions.

"Grandfather should be inside." Knuckles said when he had regained his breath.

"What happens now?" Shadow asked impatiently.

Knuckles shrugged, "We wait. Grandfather will call us when they're ready."

Sighing in barely-concealed irritation, Shadow wandered around the large antechamber. The walls were a thick bluish stone, carefully carved by ancient echidna hands into glyphs and pictograms depicting the history of the island and the Emeralds. Though heavily stylised, the carved pictures were clear enough for him to get the gist of what they were representing. Apparently the island was the product of some kind of civil war between factions of the echidna people, which somehow produced some kind of catastrophe which the Guardians and the people of Angel Island escaped by using the power of the Master Emerald to launch the entire island skywards.

Amused at the fanciful tale, Shadow turned around to look at the final panel in the sequence.

Then he stopped dead in his tracks.

This panel was slightly more fancifully decorated than the others, inlaid with small shining stones like an elaborate mosaic. This panel depicted a huge, amorphous creature that loomed over the other, smaller figure, only the rows of razor-sharp teeth clearly defined in the otherwise shapeless monster. But Shadow's eyes were insistently drawn to the smaller figure. It seemed to be a Mobian, floating in mid-air and surrounded by a glowing aura of power, facing off against the massive creature. A three-fold crown of spikes protruded from its head and ran down its back, the tips slightly turned up - just like his own quills. Shadow felt his blood run cold. This glowing, defiant figure almost looked like him - only the eyes of the carved figure were depicted by two tiny, perfect pieces of green jade.

"Knuckles," Shadow called urgently, "What is this?"

Knuckles glanced at the carving, "That? Oh, it's meant to be some sort of Prophecy."

"Prophecy?" Shadow asked sharply. He was really beginning to despise that word.

Knuckles nodded, "It's supposed to be about the End of the World."

---

The rickety old hover-bus belonging to the music group known as Sonic Underground was parked outside the large sports hall that was going to serve as tonight's gig venue.

The three musicians – along with a couple of dogged volunteers – were currently unloading all the instruments and other equipment needed for the show. A task that was proceeding with unusual slowness since they kept getting interrupted by young fans seeking autographs.

"Sonic," His sister chided him after the blue hedgehog had finished signing yet another autograph for a delighted young fan, "We're supposed to be working here. I know that work is a foreign concept to you, but you could at least try to lend a hand."

Sonic grinned at his sister, "Relax, sis. We're meant to be winning support, right? Well, hey, that's what I'm doing."

Sonia rolled her eyes and picked up a heavy amplifier and shoved it into his hands, "Well for now you can support the equipment." She said, pointing imperiously towards the hall. Sonic just laughed as he went inside, joining his brother and the venue owner – a rabbit called Bunnie – on the makeshift stage.

"Almost done there, sugar?" Bunnie smiled at him as he set the amp down. Manic waved vaguely, half his torso buried under the sound console he was currently putting together.

"Pretty much," Sonic replied, quickly connecting up the amplifier, "Just gotta sound test then we're ready to juice and jam this joint."

"I'm lookin' forward to it, sugarhog," Bunnie laughed, "Ain't all that often we get big stars like y'all in a little ole place like Hilltop Town."

Sonic smiled back. Bunnie was the owner of this gym and trained the locals in physical fitness of several kinds, but she was also the leader of the local faction of Freedom Fighters. So, as usual their being here served a dual purpose. Hilltop was a fairly remote area, but it was a highly defensible one, off most main roads and tricky to get to by air. Worryingly, though, Robotnik had shown a strong interest in the place lately, so they were here to make contact with the local resistance as well as find out what Buttnik was up to – and play a killer show, of course, but that was a given.

Picking up his beloved Peavey electric guitar he quickly ran through a series of scales, still loving the crisp wail of the notes that poured from the amp. This was a fairly new guitar, bought for his sixteenth birthday by his two siblings. He had no idea how they had managed to afford the beautiful instrument, but frankly didn't really care. From the moment he had seen the elegant red body, gleaming white scratch-plate and graceful neck, he had been hopelessly in love.

With his brother behind him on drums, sister to the left of him with her keyboards arrayed in front of her, himself with guitar in hands – everything felt… almost perfect. Sonic smiled as they ran through the sound check. He glanced again at the set-list as the people assigned as stewards began to take their places, awaiting the rush of fans. The set was due to begin with 'In the Lead', a nice easy intro leading into a good heavy rock song, followed by the darker, ominous strains of 'Distant Early Warning' then softening down into Sonia's ballad rendition of 'Dangerous Type' and culminating with 'You're The Voice' to end the first half of the show.

Sonic nodded in satisfaction. It was pretty much perfect. Now, if he could just rid himself of that that nagging sensation that something was missing, everything would be truly awesome. Maybe Manic was right and his part of the stage just felt empty without a bassist to share it with. Heh – yeah right.

People were filing in, now, talking and laughing and chatting as they crowded towards the stage, faces alight with excitement and anticipation. Sonic felt the same excitement build up in him, an adrenaline rush almost as good as the one he got from running.

"Hey all!" He cried out to the crowd, grinning like a lunatic as they whooped and cheered in response, "We're Sonic Underground and we're here to rock ya!"

The cheering swept over him like a wave as his fingers took position on the strings. Manic tapped out the intro and Sonic slammed out the first chord feeling his mood soar as they launched into the first song of the night.

They weren't even half-way through it when all hell broke loose.

Without any warning at all, the entire back wall of the sports hall suddenly crumbled into rubble, sending debris and dust everywhere. The screaming started not long after that as a squadron of SWATbots marched implacably into the hall, their laser rifles levelled, grating metallic voices ordering everyone to keep still and surrender.

Unsurprisingly, not everyone listened. Total panic set in and the crowd tried to flee, setting off in panicked, desperate flight towards the exits.

All this happened in the space of a few heartbeats, which was enough time for Sonic to dis-entangle himself from his guitar strap and jump down into the fray.

"You guys get everyone you can outta here!" Sonic called to his siblings, "I'll distract the SWAT-butts!"

Without any hesitation or pause, Sonic threw himself into the action, interposing himself between the robots and the innocent Mobians they were trying to cut down.

"Sorry, guys. No ticket, no entry," Sonic told the faceless robots in a mock-stern voice, "I'm gonna have to escort you from the premises."

Dodging a barrage of laser fire, Sonic whipped behind one of the SWATbots, grabbing a slack loop of the cable two of them were stood on, he yanked hard, sending one of them tumbling straight into its fellows. As the second stumbled forward, Sonic jumped into the air, curling up and flying straight down towards the back of the SWATbot, sending it crashing into the ground, wooden floor timbers splintering around the area of its impact.

Without stopping to breathe, Sonic backflipped off the SWATbot's back, landing in a crouch and immediately revving up into his signature move - the spin-dash. He zoomed towards the phalanx of bots, smashing headlong into their legs and sending them flying around like bowling pins when a strike was hit.

Quickly changing direction to avoid another barrage of laser fire, he shot straight up the wall and onto the metal beams that made up the lighting rig, perching there for a moment to take stock of the situation.

As he had expected, Sonia and Manic were deftly holding their own, Sonia pinning down the bots with blasts from the laser pistol she kept stashed under her keyboard rig while Manic carried the injured out of the door. He had expected no less from his fearless siblings. What was a bit of a surprise was that Bunnie, the venue owner was also participating in the fight, using judo moves to fling the large, cumbersome bots into the ground.

The SWAtbots, meanwhile, were moving to flank the three Freedom Fighters, seeking to surround them and force their surrender so they could be lead to the roboticiser. Simple and straight forward - Robotnik had programmed tactics into them, but they remained unimaginative, unable to cope with anything unexpected or illogical.

Fortunately, unexpected, over-the-top illogical actions were Sonic's stock in trade.

He dived forward, curled up again to engage another spindash. Ready to catch those bots in his slipstream and send them flying long enough to make sure everyone got out of there. It was a risky move - almost insane, in fact, but provided he didn't' catch a laser blast, it stood a good chance of working against the simple-minded SWATbots.

Unfortunately, SWATbots were not the only thing he had to contend with.

Another portion of wall caved in as he neared it, and before the dust could clear, Sonic found himself ensnared in the strong metal tentacles of a huge robot.

It was almost like someone had crossed an octopus with a tank. It rolled on heavy caterpillar treads with a bulbous body perched on top that bristled with weaponry ranging from flamethrowers to laser cutters. A pair of sensors akin to huge eyes protruded from either side of that domed body, and a profusion of snakelike tendrils extended out from the front.

Though the monstrous robot had no mouth and no real emotions, Sonic felt it roar in triumph as it wrapped him in its tendrils. He struggled, trying to curl up into another spindash or wriggle his way free, but nothing worked, the robot just tightened its grip, tentacles spiralling around his torso and trapping his arms. He could feel himself beginning to get light-headed as his breathing was restricted.

Free from his distractions, the SWATbots began to converge on Sonia, Manic and Bunnie, herding them into a blind corner. Sonia's pistol was knocked from her hand and Bunnie was violently hurled to the ground as she tried to flip one of the advancing SWATbots.

They all stood then, back-to-back, their eyes grim as they realised this could well be their final stand. There expressions held no fear, only determination.

Sonic's struggled more violently as he recognised what trouble his siblings were in. The tentacle around him simply tightened its grip. His vision had acquired black borders around it that seemed to narrow down into a long tunnel as his chest was constricted. The pain felt very far away, now. From somewhere distantly, he felt something in his chest crack.

He had to help them… he had to escape… he... had… to…

The blackness closed in on him like a suffocating wave and with sudden clarity, he seemed to hear a smooth tenor voice whispering to him:

_' I promise that if you ever need me, all you have to do is call for me and I will come to you, no matter how far away I am…'_

With the last of the air in his lungs, Sonic threw his head back and howled.

"SHADOW!" He screamed.

Time stopped. The air glowed with golden fire.

Oxygen rushed back into Sonic's lungs as he found himself knelt on the floor, once again able to breathe, the severed remains of the tentacle that had gripped him lay twitching on the ground.

Sonic looked up to see the figure of a black hedgehog standing before him, a sabre in hand, red eyes seeming to glow like hot metal in the dark.

It was probably the most beautiful sight Sonic had seen in his life.

The black hedgehog extended a hand to help him up. Sonic accepted, feeling a sudden rush like an electric shock race through his nerves when their hands made contact.

"It's about time." the black hedgehog smiled and Sonic felt his world tilt on its axis. "Shall we?" the darker hedgehog asked, gesturing with his sabre towards the rest of the SWATbots.

Sonic smiled, "Yeah!"

_To be continued in Chapter Seven - 'Face to Face'_

Author's notes: Thanks to Greyfore for encouragement and assistance with this chapter.

For the record, the guitar Sonic is using here is a Peavey Raptor Plus EXP. The songs mentioned in the set list are: 'In The Lead' by Sons of Angels (now better known as Crush 40), 'Distant Early Warning' by Rush, 'Dangerous Type' by Letters to Cleo and 'You're The Voice' by John Farnam.


	8. Face to Face

Chapter Seven – Face to Face

The heavy stone door rose ponderously up into the ceiling, moving surprisingly smoothly as it rumbled up into the hidden recess, the ancient machinery that powered it working smoothly even after centuries of use. The smoky scent of incense wafted through into the antechamber, along with the sound of the groaning chant spoken in a language that no-one else on all of Mobius spoke anymore.

Athair, Guardian of the Master Emerald and thereby most senior of the Elders present, stepped forward. The beads around his neck clattering against the many amulets pinned to his ceremonial robes as he grandly waved his staff in a gesture towards Knuckles.

"Knuckles, apprentice Guardian and Grandson. You may enter the Shrine of the Emerald."

Knuckles made a formal bow to his grandfather and began to climb the steps to the Shrine. Athair turned to Shadow.

"Sir Shadow the Hedgehog, First Knight of the Acorn Realm; you are invited to enter the Shrine of the Emerald."

Shadow bowed and began to walk up the steps, hearing the sounds of the chanting getting louder even as the unmistakable aura of Chaos Power washed over him in a powerful wave. Shadow clamped down on his chaos sense with a slightly pained grimace, grateful that the cuffs on his wrists prevented him from absorbing too much power.

He approached the top of the stairs and the chant altered slightly from a groaning rise-and-fall to a steady, almost yearning kind of wail. Inside he could see Knuckles take his place in front of the Alter, his red fur looking mud-brown under the brilliant green glow emanating from the Master Emerald. No other illumination was present in the holy of holies – none other was needed.

As Shadow's foot came down on the top step, he felt something slam into his brain with all the violence of an axe to the head. With a strangled cry, he dropped to one knee, hands flying up to clutch his head as he heard an agonised cry sweep through his psyche.

"Sonic!" He gasped, not realising he had spoken aloud. Swirls of golden energy wrapped around him as he drew on his power, the Master Emerald seemed to pulse in sympathy as he wrapped the red-gold cord of his chaos energy around the distant, glowing spark of Sonic's blue-green presence and cried out, "Chaos CONTROL!"

The air in the ancient Echidna temple was still and silent in the aftermath of Shadow's sudden departure before Knuckles' voice rang out in the quiet air.

"What the HELL!?"

--

The glow of Chaos Power faded from his vision and Shadow found himself elsewhere - and surrounded by total mayhem.

The room was dark and slightly smoky, the air filled with the droning of robot voices and the terrified squeals of the frightened people as they fled. A troop of hulking grey-armoured SWATBots had laser guns drawn and were mercilessly picking off the fleeing Mobian crowd, the red/orange flare of the gun blasts seemed to be everywhere.

Shadow's hand clenched around his sword hilt - he didn't even remember having drawn it - his eyes fixed unerringly on a huge, monstrous robot that resembled an octopus on caterpillar treads, something was dangling helplessly from the metallic tendrils. With a snarl of fury, he realised that it was Sonic.

Without another thought, he leapt towards the massive robot, angling himself to deliver an overhand cut to the tentacle that had Sonic trapped, slicing neatly through it and letting Sonic out of its clutches, allowing the blue hedgehog to fall to the floor and catch his breath again.

He felt Sonic's eyes on him, the onyx depths filled with gratitude, confusion and something almost like admiration, but deeper and brighter. Shadow realised with a slightly guilty jolt that Sonic had never seen him without his cloak and hood before, and yet there was no distrust or suspicion in his gaze. Shadow held out his hand and Sonic took it, using it to pull himself to his feet. Shadow tried desperately to ignore the sudden, almost intoxicatingly pleasant buzz as their compatible chaos auras connected for an instant through their clasped hands.

Shadow felt his cheek muscles flex into a smile, "It's about time." He said quietly, though Sonic still heard him over the din. Shadow narrowed his eyes and levelled the point of his sabre towards the SWATbots, "Shall we?"

Sonic's answering smile was like the sun coming up, "Yeah!" He cried, eyes lighting up as he dropped into a runner's crouch.

Shadow scanned the room, realising that the SWATbots had the remaining Mobians pinned into a blind corner. One - a rabbit - was unconscious already with the other two, both hedgehogs, standing ready to fight. His eyes widened as he realised who the other two hedgehogs were and he surged forwards, his jet shoes driving him rapidly towards the robots. He felt Sonic's presence beside him as they both raced forwards. At the last moment, he saw through the corner of his eye Sonic jump into the air and curl up into a deadly spike ball, smashing dramatically into the domed helmet of one SWATbot even as Shadow brought his sword up in a diagonal slash, slicing off another SWATbot's laser arm and between them opening up a path by which Sonic's siblings and their unknown rabbit friend could escape and regroup.

With a smooth twist of his body Shadow slid between two approaching SWATbots, slicing the leg of one and sweeping the legs of the other. As they fell a blue blur flew over head and smashed another into the floor. The hand of a SWATbot became pinned to the wall near Sonia and Manic as Shadow's sabre flew through it, preventing it striking the hedgehog siblings. Sonia and Manic were holding off the SWATbots with whatever they could get their hands on, in this case, a bar stool and a pool cue they had pulled out of the games room. Sonia had managed to smash the visor of one of the SWATbots, it flailed in confusion, walking blindly into one of its fellows and tripping the one attacking Manic. The green hedgehog then took the opportunity to jam the stool he was weilding over the head of the remaining visible one and jump on it, splintering the stool and crushing the robot's head into the floor. Shadow retrieved his sword and then leapt forward slicing the diagonally across the body of the last SWATbot.

The last SWATbot fell with a resounding clank. The royal triplets all breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they were safe again for the moment - at least until re-enforcements arrived. The three teenaged hedgehogs looked at each other, breaking into relieved smiles when they each verified their siblings were ok. The metallic scraping of Shadow re-sheathing his sword drew Sonia's attention and she turned to look him over curiously.

"Not that I'm not thankful for the assistance, but… who are you?" She asked.

Shadow, standing slightly apart from the other three hedgehogs, smirked and folded his arms, his garnet stare travelling over to fix on Sonic. The oldest of the royal triplets tilted his head as Shadow's red eyes regarded him. Sonic stepped forward his gaze raking over Shadow's form, taking in every nuance, drawn eventually to the ornate sabre hung at Shadow's hip. Shadow could practically see the thoughts travelling through Sonic's head.

Sonic's gaze travelled back up to lock again with Shadow's eyes.

"Maestro?" He asked tentatively.

Shadow's smile grew wider, "I'm glad you haven't forgotten everything I taught you."

Sonia looked curiously at her brother, placing her hands on her hips, "You know this guy, Sonic?" She asked.

"Yeah," Sonic replied, his eyes still on Shadow, "He… taught me some stuff, back when I was living with Uncle Chuck."

"That still doesn't tell us who he is." She said with a hint of a challenge in her voice. Shadow thought she sounded very much like her mother in that.

"My name is Shadow the Hedgehog." He said calmly, before Sonic could reply.

"No way!" Sonia shot back caustically, her face scrunched into an expression of disbelief.

Shadow raised an eye ridge.

"Sir Shadow was killed during the coup. No one was left alive in the palace."

"I escaped before Robotnik's forces penetrated into the palace grounds." Shadow replied.

"How convenient." Sonia sneered. Before Sonic could break into the conversation, Manic beat him to it.

"Uh, guys, this is all really interestin', but I think we've got a bigger problem." Manic gestured and they all realised that the air was rapidly filling with smoke. Apparently a stray laser blast had managed to ignite one of the wooden beams supporting the structure of the roof and the fire was now spreading quickly.

Shadow looked up and frowned. "All of you, grab on to me – I'll get us out of here."

"Wait a sec!" Both Sonic and Manic said in unison before the both dashed off to opposite ends of the hallway. Manic returned moments later bearing Bunnie's unconscious form draped across his arms. Sonic returned carrying his beloved red and white guitar. Sonia sighed and rolled her eyes.

Without hesitation, Sonic reached out with his spare hand to take a firm grip on Shadow's arm, and once again, Shadow had to steady himself as he felt the flare of Sonic's power brush against his own aura. After a moment – and a stern glare from both Sonic and Manic, Sonia reluctantly grabbed hold of Shadow's other arm, reaching out with her other hand to take hold of Manic's wrist.

"So how exactly were you planning on getting us out of here?" Sonia asked irritably. Like the rest of them, her eyes watering now from the smoke.

"Just hold on," Shadow ordered, closing his eyes and drawing on the power contained in the Emerald nestled in his quills. He heard Sonic gasp as the chaos energy swirled around them in unseen ribbons.

"Chaos… Control!"

The light faded and Shadow heard a gasp from all three of the hedgehogs as they took in their new surroundings. They were now in a small cave just underneath the zone. It wasn't much of a hiding place, but it would do as a temporary resting point. He opened his eyes and realised that Sonia was staring at him with an expression of mingled fear and awe. Manic was looking around in astonishment, his mouth hanging open. Sonic, however…

"That was awesome!" Sonic grinned, offering Shadow his customary thumbs-up pose. Shadow felt a peculiar pang at the sight of it and realised how much he had missed Sonic and his relentless cheer.

"You…" Sonia breathed, "You…really are." She shuddered, "I'm sorry I didn't believe you." She apologised in a subdued voice.

"We missin' something here?" Manic asked, gently setting Bunnie down onto a large, flat rock and arranging her into a comfortable position.

Shadow glanced sidelong at Sonia. The young princess took a breath and began to explain.

"According to the stories my foster parents told me, Sir Shadow," She nodded at Shadow who smirked in reply, "Was a hero of the Acorn Kingdom. The bodyguard to the Royal Family for over forty years."

Manic and Sonic's gaze whipped over to Shadow, their eyes wide, "You knew Mom?" Sonic asked.

Shadow shrugged, "Since she was a child." He didn't look directly at Sonic as he said it, his eyes half-lidded.

"Do you know where she is?" Sonia asked, excited.

Shadow shook his head, "No. She was supposed to contact me after I had returned from... a meeting," He replied, hedging around the details of what exactly he had been doing today. "But since… certain events today seem to have interrupted that, I'm not sure when I will see her again." He endured the speculative stares from the triplets for a moment before he spoke again, "We can't linger here. Sooner or later the SWATbot patrols will discover us."

"No problem, dude!" Manic drawled, pulling out a peculiar device from the pouch at his waist. It looked like a controller for a remote-controlled car, only with a small TV screen bolted on to the top, "I'll get the bus to come pick us up."

Sonic nodded, "Then we can head on out to Starlight City for our rendezvous with the other Freedom Fighters. Maybe they've got some new of Mom." Sonic turned to glances at his two siblings who both gave a slightly hesitant nod, then he looked at Shadow, "Hey, Maestro, how about you come along with us?"

Shadow bowed slightly, "I would be honoured." He replied formally.

Sonic just laughed, giving Shadow his warmest smile.

Shadow wondered if he was making a mistake, but still couldn't quite suppress the warm glow he felt upon hearing Sonic's laughter again.

_To be continued in Chapter Eight – Dancing with the Moonlit Knight_

Author's Notes - Thanks again to Greyfore for assistance with the fight scenes in this chapter. _  
_


	9. Dancing with the Moonlit Knight

Chapter Eight – Dancing with the Moonlit Knight

It was somewhere past 3am when Sleet and Dingo were summoned into Robotnik's command centre. Even at this late hour the complex was busy with robots scurrying to and fro on various tasks. Sleet led the way through the dark metal corridors, Dingo trailing reluctantly behind him. Ever since the incident eight years ago, Dingo had been fiercely reluctant to enter Robotnik's technological lair, even though he still relied on the Machine Lord's technology to keep his nanotech-infused body functioning. For that reason – among others - the two bounty hunters were inextricably bound to the Dictator's will.

"Ah, Gentlemen, do come in." Robotnik said in false geniality as they walked in.

"Lord Robotnik." Sleet greeted the dictator politely, bowing. He could sense Dingo behind him performing his usual graceless half-bow, trying to use Sleet's slender body as cover from Robotnik's searching gaze, despite his huge bulk making that a near-impossible feat.

"I have a little job for you." Robotnik said, the evenness of his tone only just concealing a towering anger, his eyes burning with dreadful focus.

"Yes, my lord?" Sleet asked, even disgusting himself at how servile his voice sounded.

Robotnik swivelled his throne-like control chair to face a large screen and pressed a button, gesturing as he did so, "Observe."

Sleet watched. At first, it looked like a simple raid on a subversive event in a relatively rural area, but the bounty hunter quickly realised it was more than just a simple rally, it was a rock concert – a rock concert performed by those thrice-damned triplets, the Sonic Underground!

Sleet ground his teeth with frustration. He and Dingo had been given the job to catch the royal trio almost a year ago, but despite all their plans and efforts, had come no closer to catching the three pests. Sleet tensed, then. Was all this an elaborate way of leading up to another 'punishment' for them? For him? He struggled not to shiver.

Then something new entered the picture. There was a flash of light that blinded the camera for a moment, but when it faded another figure was stood there, a sword held in one hand as the other was extended towards one of the triplets – probably Sonic, judging by the shoes. It was somewhat hard to tell through the poor lighting and the faint haze of smoke, but this new figure also looked like a hedgehog, far darker in colouring than the royal triplets.

A terrible suspicion dawned and Sleet's eyes went back over the picture to look at the sword, noticing this time that the blade was held in the figure's left hand.

Sleet froze as the rest of the footage played out – there wasn't much else. Another few seconds of fighting and then the dark figure turned, oval eyes red as burning coals fixed directly on the camera. There was a brief flash, then nothing but static.

"Well, Gentleman?" Robotnik asked his voice taking a dangerous edge as he fixed his stare directly on Sleet.

The bounty hunter opened his mouth, but nothing came out except an odd squeaking noise. The memory of that encounter with those same burning red eyes and the bright silver blade he had faced eight years ago washed over him. He hurriedly cleared his throat and tried again, "Lord Robotnik, is… is that who I think it is?"

Robotnik's eyes narrowed, "Yes." He growled, "Shadow the Hedgehog – who is meant to be the LATE Sir Shadow the Hedgehog!" His voice rose to a shout, accompanied by the crunching of metal as his fist crashed down on the chair arm with enough force to bend the metal like a cheap tin can. He glared at Sleet and Dingo, "My robots may have failed me in this, but I will NOT accept a failure from you this time!"

"What do you want us to do, my lord?" Sleet asked, trying to keep the terror off his face. Robotnik's face scrunched up into an expression of raw fury.

"FIND THEM! Find them, separate them, capture them, kill them all if you have to! Whatever it takes!"

"Yes, my lord." He bowed, beginning to back out of the chamber.

"Don't you dare fail me in this, Sleet," Robotnik snarled, "Those royal vermin cannot be allowed to join forces with that fake hedgehog! He could ruin all my plans." His voice suddenly dropped to an icy whisper, "And you wouldn't want that, now would you?" He asked quietly, his eyes drifting to the remote control on Sleet's belt – the one that controlled Dingo's nanotech transformation.

It was on Sleet's mind to ask what Robotnik meant by 'fake hedgehog', but thankfully for his health, fear held his tongue. Instead he merely replied, "No, my lord." even as he grabbed hold of Dingo and high-tailed it out of the command centre as fast as he could.

--

The Sonic Underground van trundled along down the poorly-paved road towards Starlight City. Manic was in the driver's seat, Sonia next to him with a map spread across her knees as she provided directions through the badly-lit streets.

Sonic and Shadow sat in the back, staring at one another. Red eyes regarded black as Sonic shifted uncomfortably, searching for something to say.

"So… uh... your real name is Shadow, right?"

Shadow inclined his head in confirmation. Sonic frowned,

"'So… what was with all the 'Maestro' business then, huh?"

Shadow shrugged, "You needed something to call me, and I couldn't reveal my real name to you. Maestro means 'master' or 'teacher' in music and fencing, so it seemed… apt."

Sonic frowned, "I don't get it - why couldn't you tell me your real name?"

"It wasn't time."

"Time? Time for what? Gettin' old? C'mon, Maestro…"

"Sonic…" Shadow sighed, "Your Mother has a plan. She and the Oracle," his hands curled up involuntarily into fists, "She wouldn't even tell me everything. My job was purely to help protect you and help you where I could. All I know is that timing is the key. Queen Aleena is waiting for something, and if she is waiting, then so must I."

Sonic glared at him, frustration in his eyes, "If you wanted to help me, why not just join the Freedom Fighters?"

"Because I am meant to be a secret weapon. No one besides you and Aleena knows I survived the attack on the palace fifteen years ago. I've taken another name, hid in plain sight all this time, waiting."

"Waiting for _what_?" Sonic cried, "What's different now? Why are you here, Shadow?"

A strange shiver ran through Shadow's body at the sound for Sonic using his given name for the first time. He firmly controlled the sensation and looked Sonic straight in the eyes.

"Sonic, if I joined you - if I joined the Freedom Fighters, then all it would take is for one person to talk to Robotnik and it would be over. All of the Queen's plans, the prophecy, everything."

"The Freedom Fighters wouldn't tell Ro-butt-nik anythin'!" Sonic protested.

Shadow shook his head, "Really? None of them have families or friends that he could threaten? All it would take is one weak link, one unprotected moment."

Sonic attempted to retort, but just looked away.

"Look, I didn't want it this wa-" Shadow began.

"Then why are you here anyways?" Sonic interjected.

Shadow closed his eyes "You called me; I had to answer."

Sonic was about to question what he meant, when a loud bang brought the hedgehog's attention to the front of the van.

The engine sputtered, causing the van's frame to shudder violently and lurch sideways and it slowly juddered to a stop. By now, clouds of black smoke were pouring from the engine bay, obscuring the entirety of the windshield.

"Whoa! What happened, Manic?" Sonic called, alarmed.

Manic pulled open the door and jumped down, walking over to the engine bay, futilely attempting to fan away the smoke with his hand as he did so, coughing as he nonetheless breathed in some of the noxious black cloud. He pulled open the hood, peering at the engine, which was still billowing smoke.

"Dunno, bro," Manic called back through the open door, "Too dark to see out here, but somethin' is definitely busted."

"Hold on, Manic," Sonia called, grabbing something from the glove box, "I'll bring a torch."

Sonic, impatience written all over his posture, followed them both outside, Shadow trailing not far behind him.

The night air was cool but not cold, the dark sky speckled with stars and the crescent moon, veiled by a thin wisp of cloud. The gravel road crunched under their feet as they all crowded around the front of the van to survey the damage. Shadow could only peer blankly at the oil-stained bits of metal inside the engine bay, since he knew nothing of mechanical engineering and so it just looked like a random hodge-podge of bits of metal to him.

Sonia shone the torch over the bay, and even Shadow could see the scorch marks that certainly shouldn't be there. Manic whistled in amazement, "Oh maaaan. This sure ain't gonna be easy to fix."

Sonic sighed, "Great. How long is it gonna take?"

"I dunno, bro," Manic replied, pulling a screwdriver out from his belt pouch and leaning over the engine bay as Sonia positioned the torch beam so the green hedgehog could see what he was doing, "But it's probably gonna take a while.".

Manic started tinkering with the various parts, an expression of intense concentration on his face as he leaned over the engine. Sonic stood back, keeping out of the way. But after a few moments Shadow saw the growing signs of impatience in Sonic's body language as Sonic stood, crossing then uncrossing his arms, tapping his foot and starting to pace restlessly.

Sonia threw him an irritated glance, at which point Shadow decided his best option was to take action and distract Sonic before one or both of his siblings decided to commit fratricide.

Shadow leaned over and tapped Sonic lightly on the shoulder. "Would you like to go for a run?"

Sonic's face lit up like a lamp, "Sure!"

Shadow turned and coasted off, turning off the road and onto the large expanse of grassland which was only sparsely broken by tall, spindly trees or odd-shaped rocks. He could sense Sonic behind him and wondered for a moment why the blue speedster didn't pull up alongside him, knowing that Sonic's speed was at least equal to his own before he realised – it was too dark for Sonic to see out here, so he was using the fiery red glow of Shadow's jet shoes as a beacon to guide him across the slightly uneven terrain. Shadow smiled and sped up a little, wanting to push Sonic just slightly.

After racing for a few minutes and cutting a complex, twisting path across the grasslands, Shadow slid to a halt at the base of a large rock which stuck up incongruously from the grasslands like the spire of a church. Sonic was with him an instant later, his white teeth reflecting the starlight as he grinned.

"That was awesome, Maestro. I know you were fast with a sword, I sure didn't know you were that fast on your feet, too!"

Shadow raised an eyebrow wondering if Sonic truly knew what his super-speed meant.

"You've met others who have speed like yours?" Shadow asked carefully.

"Nope!" Sonic replied cheerfully, "You're the first. But, hey, I knew you weren't like other people when I first met you."

"You… did?" Shadow asked, feeling a prickle of alarm. Sonic couldn't possibly know, could he? About them? He felt a confused spark of anger and worry start to light up inside him as he wondered just how much to Oracle had told him.

"Sure," Sonic replied, jumping up onto one of the rocky outcroppings and settling himself down, "Guess all that training at court and stuff has gotta count for somethin', huh?"

"Yes, I suppose so." Shadow agreed amiably, relaxing now.

"So, what was it like?" Sonic asked, leaning back against his rock.

"What was what like?"

"Ah, c'mon. Being at court; all the servants, living in the palace… Mom." Sonic said, looking up at the stars, "You know all about that stuff, I don't. So fill me in – what was it like?"

Shadow closed his eyes as he called long-suppressed memories to mind. The reminder of all that he had lost stung sharply, but he ignored that flash of sorrow - for Sonic had never even know the things he had lost, had grown up in hostile territory without his parents to guide him. He deserved to know.

"It was… formal. The fine gowns and suits. The guards always wore pristine uniforms; everything was always clean, in its place. There were always people around - guards, servants, ladies-in-waiting, courtiers, advisors everywhere. It was never quiet. There was always something going on and since I was the Queen's bodyguard, I had to attend - formal dinners, military parades, medal presentations, the balls and dances…"

"Dances?" Sonic interrupted again, "You danced?"

Shadow nodded, a faint smile on his face, "I was effectively a member of the court. It was expected."

Sonic laughed, "Somehow, Maestro, I'm havin' trouble imagining you dancing."

Shadow gave him a sly, sidelong glance, "You realise that if you win your fight against Robotnik and take your place on the throne, it will be expected of you, also."

The look that crossed Sonic's face then was completely priceless. The expression of mingled worry, horror and even a small amount of hope created such a picture that Shadow couldn't help but grin.

Eventually, Sonic hung his head and sighed, "Oh man… I guess that apart from Sonia, we ain't really prepared for all this royalty stuff, huh?"

Reaching up, Shadow placed a gentle hand on Sonic's shoulder, "Don't worry," He said softly, "I can teach you."

Sonic looked down at him, "Yeah?"

"Yes," Shadow affirmed, "Come down here and I'll show you."

With a curious tilt of his head, Sonic sat up and jumped down in front of Shadow. Shadow shifted so they were face-to-face, close enough that Shadow could feel Sonic's breath brush against his muzzle, he saw Sonic shift restlessly and smiled.

"Relax," He said in a low tone, "You can't dance properly if you tense up."

Sonic's answering grin had a trace of nervousness to it as Shadow reached up to grasp hold of Sonic's hand, Shadow felt Sonic jump slightly as his gloved hand slid over to rest on Sonic's hip, feeling the sleek, toned muscles tense and flex, "Relax," Shadow murmured again, "I'll lead for now, you just watch me and feel how it works."

"Uh, sure, okay." Sonic muttered uncertainly.

Sonic couldn't see Shadow properly in the darkness, all he could make out was the dull glow of his peculiar shoes, his white gloves that seemed almost incandescent in the moonlight and his fiery red eyes. For some reason, instead of making him feel clumsy and uncertain, the darkness around them just made him more aware of… everything else. The feeling of Shadow's smooth, strong muscles through the fine coat of dark fur as Shadow positioned Sonic's hand on his shoulder, he could smell Shadow's strange but pleasantly spicy scent, hear every breath and even the soft creaking of the leather and polymer on his and Shadow's shoes.

And even through his gloves he could feel a strange, subtle prickle of… something. It felt almost like pins and needles and it happened every time he came into contact with Shadow. That, more than anything else in his current situation was making his palms sweat and his mouth go dry.

Shadow started to gently sway them from side to side, humming a soft tune under his breath. Shadow began to move them both, indicating to Sonic which way to step with the subtle motions of his fingers against his hand and lower back, moving them both into an elegant and deceptively simple rhythm that Sonic surprised himself by managing to pick it up pretty quickly. Sonic could still feel the vibration of Shadow's soft, low humming through his fingers as Shadow skilfully slowed and then stopped their dance.

"See?" Shadow murmured quietly, then, "That wasn't so hard, was it?" The low smooth voice unexpectedly brought Goosebumps out all over Sonic's skin making the deposed Prince extremely grateful that his fur and quills were hiding this very odd reaction.

"No… I guess not." Sonic replied, trying to tear his gaze away from Shadow's, but strangely powerless to do so, held captive by the power of that gaze and the sight of the moonlight as it highlighted his black quills, making him look like an ethereal spirit of the night.

They stood in complete silence for a moment, eyes locked, their hands still clasped in that same dancing pose as the moonlight streamed down, the only sound was Sonic's breathing as he suddenly seemed desperate to catch his breath.

A whistle sounded over the grasslands and Sonic's head whipped around towards the source of the noise, the spell completely broken.

"That was Manic," Sonic said, his voice suddenly sounding unnaturally loud after the stillness and peace, "I guess he's fixed up the van."

"Yes, maybe so." Shadow agreed, releasing Sonic's hand and stepping away, leaving Sonic feeling weirdly cold, but he still turned and managed to grin at the other hedgehog.

"Let's head back, huh?"

Shadow lead the way back to the van to find Manic stood in front of it with a slightly disgruntled expression on his face - about the closest the laid-back hedgehog ever got to looking truly angry.

"'Sup, Bro?" Sonic asked, skidding to a halt in front of Manic, "Can't ya fix it?"

Manic raised a hand and rocked it from side to side, "Kinda, but it won't get us very far. Maybe just to the next town," he grimaced, "Right now all that's holding it together is duct tape and a pair of Sonia's stockings."

Sonic winced, "Way too much info there, Manic."

Sonia smacked him on the arm, and Sonic reacted like he had been struck with a lump hammer, pretending to fall dramatically to the ground with a fatal injury, wailing in supposed pain.

Sonia rolled her eyes at her brother's antics, "Knock it off, Sonic." She turned to Manic, "The next town is Sunset Hill – it's only a few miles away. Can we make it that far?"

Manic shrugged, "We ain't got much choice, sis. Hopefully Sunset Hill will have a mechanic we can hire to get it fixed up – not much else I can do with it."

She nodded calmly, "Sunset Hill is pretty big, we should be able to find something. So let's pack up and get going. Try not to give us too many bumps, Manic."

"No kidding." Manic muttered as he climbed back into the van.

Shadow stopped by the rear door, opening it and gesturing for Sonic to enter. Sonic flashed him a small, nervous grin as he also climbed up inside.

The van started up with a choking, spluttering sound. It juddered unevenly as it set off along the badly-paved gravel road towards Sunset Hill.

Sonic grabbed hold of the metal frame of his bunk bed as the van shuddered violently, "That sure doesn't sound healthy." Sonic almost shouted over the loud burbling of the engine.

Shadow rolled his eyes, "I just don't seem to have much luck with transport lately." He muttered.

_To be Continued in Chapter Nine – Two of a Kind_


	10. Two of a Kind

Chapter Nine – Two of a Kind

The sky was stained with the pale light of false dawn when the van finally stuttered to a stop in the small town known as Sunset Hill. The battered old vehicle seemed to sag down into the road as Manic pulled it to a halt in a narrow alley, its structure groaning as if in torment.

"Phew," Sonia sighed, "Good thing we got here when we did, don't think this thing could go much further."

Manic shrugged, "Hey, we got here, right?" he stretched, and yawned, "Think I'll grab a nap, then head out and find us a mechanic." With that, the weary green hedgehog rolled out of the driver's seat and padded over to his bunk. He blinked when he laid eyes in Shadow, who was trying to pry his hand loose of the death-grip he had been forced to take on the bed-frame, leaving the imprint of his fingers in the metal. "Um…" Manic said, staring at that impression of fingers left in the solid metal frame, "Dude, you're really strong."

Shadow looked ever-so-slightly sheepish, "My apologies." He said, looking away.

Manic shrugged, "Eh, no problem. Ain't the first knock that thing's taken."

"You can have the spare bunk, by the way." Sonia said wandering over to join her brother and gesturing up to the bunk above her own bed, "Providing you don't snore, of course." She smirked.

"… thank you." Shadow said, looking a little off-balance at this sudden acceptance, "I am sorry that you lost your equipment, by the way."

Sonic laughed, "No problem, Maestro. We lose stuff all the time."

"Yeah, man," Manic added, "Ain't the first time we've lost kit to a robot attack. We've totally got spares. We can get more as soon as we get back to Metropolis."

"That's a point – what's Shadow gonna do with the band? We need to preserve our cover story." Sonia mused.

"Sure, but no one is gonna believe he's a Roadie." Sonic commented.

Sonia raised an eyebrow at him, "Why not?"

"C'mon, sis, just look at him!" Sonic said without thinking, earning him amused looks from his siblings, and a surprised look from Shadow. Sonic flushed slightly, his cheeks darkening as Shadow gave him a penetrating stare, "uh... I mean…"

"Is that a bass guitar?" Shadow interrupted, rescuing the tatters of Sonic's dignity.

Sonia glanced over, "Uh, yeah. Why?"

The three teenaged hedgehogs watched with great interest as Shadow wandered over to collect the battered white bass guitar. The guitar had clearly seen better days, and apparently hadn't been played in quite some time, since the strings were hung loosely on the frame.

Deftly, he began to unwind the strings. Sonic looked at him in confusion for a moment before he smiled.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that." Sonic noted.

"Huh?" Manic asked, puzzled.

"I'm left-handed." Shadow replied calmly as he carried on re-stringing the guitar.

"Okay, that's cool – but can ya play?" Manic asked.

"I'm a little out of practice…" Shadow said a little hesitantly as he tuned the guitar and ran through a few scales, his fingers seeming to increase in confidence as he went along.

"C'mon, Shadow, play somethin'!" Sonic demanded, his eyes alight with interest, his attention focussed squarely on the black hedgehog.

Shadow looked away, dropping his gaze down to the strings, he raised his hands…

And from the battered old bass guitar came the blistering sounds of the opening bass solo from 'Hysteria'. He looked up to see the triplets staring at him with goggle-eyed expressions.

"I play a little." He said, not able to erase the slight smirk from his face.

Sonia whistled, "You're hired!" She said, and the other two vigorously nodded their agreement. "Sonic, you can start teaching him some of our songs while Manic is out finding us a mechanic."

"Sure thing, sis." Sonic said with an almost shy smile on the blue hedgehog's face as he glanced over at Shadow, "Guess I get to teach you something this time, huh, Maestro?"

"Apparently so." Shadow murmured.

Manic yawned, "Right after I get some sleep – an' it looks like you guys could use some too. Was kinda rough night."

Most of them agreed and tiredly padded over to climb into their bunks. Shadow hesitated for a moment. He didn't really need sleep, but at the same time he felt reluctant to introduce Sonic to the extent of his strangeness just yet. It was a peculiar impulse, the only time he had ever hidden his history before was to disguise his identity, so why was he so hesitant to tell his story to Sonic? The need for secrecy was over.

Perhaps because his story was so long and complex, and the triplets were all very tired… or perhaps it was because he feared Sonic would reject him after he had learned what Shadow really was – as so many had done in the past.

"C'mon, Shadow." Sonic called as he climbed into his own bunk, "Ya gotta be tired – take a load off. Nobody else is gonna use that bunk, its ok."

Shaking off his momentary introspection, he shrugged and climbed the ladder to the spare bunk, his head flopping down onto the pillow. He realised as he lay back that he was only really worried about what Sonic would think – the opinions of the other two triplets mattered much less to him, his eyes drifted across the tiny space inside the van to seek out Sonic's drowsing form…

His fingers suddenly clenched convulsively around the blankets. No… he wouldn't… he _couldn't _let himself start thinking like that. Decisively, he turned over to face the wall, deliberately closing his eyes.

Something else occurred to him as he did so and it was an extremely uncomfortable thought. The day had been so busy that he had almost forgotten. He had abandoned the Echidnas in the middle of the ceremony and gone specifically gone against the Queen's orders. He was going to have a great deal of explaining to do.

And Knuckles was going to be royally pissed.

* * *

Later on that day, Manic found himself wandering through one of the rougher areas of town. Many of the buildings were in disrepair, bits of brick poking through crumbling plaster. The older buildings had fared better, but even then several windows were boarded up.

The other mechanics he had found had just about laughed in his face when they had seen the pitiful amount of money he had. Though the gigs did net the Sonic Underground a decent amount of money, much of it went on supporting the Freedom Fighters, leaving them with little to spend.

Though there were a fair number of people wandering the streets this late in the afternoon, there still seemed to be a peculiar, almost furtive hush over this particular part of town. The people here kept their heads down and went about their business with hidden eyes and shadowed faces. Manic recognised the atmosphere - he had grown up in it.

On impulse, he casually moved his fingers to display the classic recognition signal of the Thieves Guild. He had no idea if any of the locals would recognise it, but since he was mostly lost, he figured he had nothing to lose. One of the marginally friendlier mechanics had suggested he try his luck with 'The Freak' - apparently some kind of mechanic or odd-job guy who might be willing to work for cheap. He had been given some vague directions, but this part of town was a warren of alleyways and crooked backstreets, even his sense of direction had been foiled.

Finally, his recognition signal got some sort of response. A scruffy-looking squirrel casually sauntered up to him and grinned.

"Hey there," The squirrel said. Manic did a quick appraisal, deciding the squirrel was most likely a sneak-thief or pickpocket, no one significant, but someone likely to know the streets very well.

"Hi." Manic grinned back.

"You don't look like a newbie," The squirrel continued, "But I ain't never seen you before. New in town?"

"Just passin' through." Manic said, casually leaning against a wall. The words and posture were important, he was displaying that he had no intention of moving in on anyone else's turf. This would help make the local thieves less hostile and more helpful.

The squirrel visibly relaxed, "Cool. Where ya from? Oh, and my name's Ray."

"Robotropolis." Manic shrugged, "And you can me Manic."

The squirrel – Ray - raised an eyebrow, "You're a long way from home, dude."

"Heh, my van broke down."

"Ahhh," A look of understanding flooded across the squirrel's face., "You're lookin' for the Freak, then?"

"Sure am," Manic affirmed, "Though I'm kina wonderin' why this dude keeps getting called that."

Ray snorted, "You'll see soon enough." With that cryptic remark, the squirrel quickly gave some fairly good directions to where he needed to go, ending with, "So was your boss in Robotropolis anybody I'd know?"

Manic, who was diligently trying to commit the directions to memory, replied somewhat absently, "Huh? I dunno; he was called Feral. He raised me."

Ray almost recoiled, his eyes wide, "Dude! You worked for Feral?"

Manic gave him an odd look, "Uh, yeah…"

The squirrel suddenly had a look of profound respect in his eyes and he was regarding Manic with peculiar intensity, "Well… I'll spread the word we got a guest in town. Let one of the boys know if you need anything else." Ray twitched slightly, then turned and slipped away into the shadows of the alleyway. Manic watched him as he vanished, a perplexed look on his face. When the squirrel had twitched before he left, it had looked quite a lot like he was suppressing the urge to bow.

With a slightly uneasy shrug, Manic followed the road further out of town, the buildings becoming more dilapidated as he went along, until the commercial-style towers were replaced by tired old houses. He turned one last corner and came across an old, abandoned gas station.

Manic stared for a moment at the beaten-up old building, "You gotta be kiddin' me…" he muttered to himself. But this was definitely where Ray had told him to go. So, with a faint shrug, he opened the door and stepped inside.

If anything, the inside was worse than the outside. The air was thick with the smell of rotten wood and old oil, in addition to the faint tang of hot metal. There was dust everywhere and the remains of the dark blue paint on the walls had peeled away and now hung off the wall in long strips. Manic's feet shuffled over the unfinished concrete floor as he looked around. There were minimal signs of habitation scattered around - the occasional empty tin of food, and tucked away in a corner was a pile of rags that seemed to serve as someone's makeshift bed.

"What are you doing here?" The sharp voice coming from behind him almost made Manic jump out of his skin. The green hedgehog spun around, one hand automatically reaching for the small knife he kept tucked behind his belt, but he stopped dead when he caught sight of the person who had challenged him.

It was a young fox kit. Perhaps ten or eleven years old, badly undernourished with matted fur that seemed to be orange under the layer of grime covering it. A pair of vividly blue eyes regarded him with harsh suspicion.

"You gonna answer me, huh?" The kit demanded, "What d'you want?" The little fox's voice was filled with bitterness, his tail lashing behind him.

Manic blinked, wondering for a second if he was seeing double when he realised that it wasn't a single tail that was stirring up the dust next to the kit - it was in fact a pair of them.

"… Or ya just here to laugh at the freak?" the young fox finished.

_To be Continued..._

* * *

Author's Note: Apologies for the short chapter. I have been distracted by other things. Next one will be longer, I promise.

In blatant plug news, you really, really ought to go read Greyfore's fic 'Walk A While In My Shoes'. Go do it now and leave him lots of feedback!


	11. Connections and Reflections

Chapter 10 – Connections and Reflections

The question - or demand - hung in the stale, musty air for a few moments. Manic stood dumbfounded, eyes wide in disbelief - not so much at the kit's… condition, but more at the appalling way the fox had apparently been treated. Manic had lived among the criminal underworld for most of his life, had seen some of the harshest, hardest, most depraved things the world had to offer. But even the lowest thugs he had known wouldn't have left a child to scrounge such a desperate living this way.

They might have killed him, but never leave him like this to suffer for Chaos alone knew how long.

He could feel the fox's sapphire glare boring into him, challenging, speculative. The twin tails twitching slightly, wary, nervous. Thanks to Robotnik's pollution, mutations were not unheard of - even common in some areas near Chemical Plant and Oil Ocean - most people had come to a state of weary acceptance of that fact.

_Unless they thought he was Chaos-Touched…_

Finally, Manic took a breath and shook his head, "I ain't here to laugh at anybody, dude. I just wanna get my van fixed."

The look he received in return was filled with far more cynicism than a child of eleven should be able to muster, "Yeah? Got money?"

Manic dug into his belt pouch and pulled out the meagre supply of notes. The fox took one look and snorted derisively, "That's it? You gotta be kiddin' me."

Manic shrugged helplessly, "Yo, the van's busted, and we need to get somewhere an' we can't do that unless you help me."

The fox suddenly looked sharply at him, "You're leaving the town?"

"Uh… yeah." Manic replied. The fox's eyes bored into him, hard and sharp as chips of diamond.

"Where are you headed?" the kit demanded.

"…Starlight City." Manic replied, a little confused.

"Ok, here's the deal," The fox said, "I fix up your van, and you take me with you. Deal?"

Manic blinked, "Wha'?"

The fox folded his arms and stared up at him, making Manic realise how small the kit was, with his arms folded, expression defensive, wary, and his blue eyes glaring defiance at the world.

"Take it or leave it." The kit said, trying to make his piping, little-boy voice sound hard and stern. Manic's heart melted right there and then.

"Ok, kid." Manic said, a slight smile touching his face. He was sure his brother would understand, the urge to help people in need seemed in-built in Sonic, like his blue sibling couldn't help it. Sonia would be harder to convince, since she was far more inclined to let her logic and pragmatism override her own compassion. Still, with both him and sonic on side, he was sure he'd be able to convince her. A brief thought about how Shadow would react crossed his mind, but was dismissed, he didn't know the dark hedgehog well enough to judge, and since shadow himself had only just joined them, his opinion wasn't currently all that relevant.

A grin flashed over the kit's face almost too fast for Manic to see as he rushed over to grab a large tool kit and hauled it over. The big rusty case was almost as large as the little fox was, but he didn't seem to be struggling that much with it.

"C'mon then, lets go look at your van."

"Um, sure," Manic said, holding the door open, "Hey, I'm Manic by the way - what's your name, anyway?"

All the cheer suddenly vanished from the kit's face.

####

Across town, two hedgehogs sat opposite each other inside the cramped space at the back of the Sonic Underground van, guitars lay in each of their hands, music steadily rippling forth as they practised.

Sonic watched as Shadow frowned at the strings, his fingers dancing across the frets as he attempted to get the complicated bridge section of this particular song right. It was a little hard to do, not only because the song was challenging, but also because the tight quarters meant that Sonic's leg frequently brushed up against him, making Sonic's warm chaos aura wash over him, distracting him from the music and making his fingers fumble over the notes like a complete amateur.

"Any better?" Shadow asked when he was done, feeling a little awkward at being cast in the role of student to Sonic.

"Yeah," Sonic replied, "Not bad. You probably wanna keep workin' on that one, though. It's tricky - and with all the lights and the screaming and the rest of us playing along, you're gonna need to know it backwards." Sonic said with a grin.

Shadow frowned, "Screaming?"

Sonic's grin grew wider, "Sure, the ladies'll go nuts for someone like you." Shadow's frown grew even deeper and Sonic's eyes took on a mischievous sparkle, "don't worry; I'll make sure the fangirls don't tear your quills out or anythin'."

Spotting the teasing undertone in Sonic's voice, Shadow tore his eyes away from Sonic's compelling gaze by strategically rolling his eyes, "Very funny." He deadpanned.

"Heh," Sonic laughed, setting down his guitar.

"Going somewhere?" Shadow asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just gonna check on my sis. Keep practising, I'll be back soon." Sonic replied. Shadow nodded and turned back to the battered white bass. Sonic stood, pulled open the van door and stepped outside.

The air was slightly chilly in the way that could be described as 'bracing'. Sonic took a deep lungful as he looked out over the town. They were high up, here – the rest of Sunset Hill town lay before them, nestled on the shallower south slopes that caught the warmth of the day. Sonia stood leaning against an old set of iron railings on a cracked platform that overlooked the town. Her expression was pensive, so Sonic walked over rather than running as he might have usually.

"Everything ok, sis?"

"Hm?" She looked up as though she hadn't heard his approach, though he'd hardly been subtle about it, "Nothing's wrong, Sonic."

Sonic stopped next to her, leaning against the railings like she was, "That ain't what I asked, sis."

She sighed and looked away.

"This is about Shadow, right?" he asked intuitively, "You've been all weird and distant since he showed up."

Sonia sighed again. Sonic tapped his foot impatiently, knowing he had managed to put his finger on it, now all he had to do was wait until Sonia coughed up. It was kind of funny, for all that the triplets had only known each other for just over a year, they were pretty well attuned. Sonic knew his sister would talk in her own sweet time… but he really hated waiting.

"…it's not exactly him." Sonia said eventually, "It's related, though."

"Go on."

"How much do you know about him – his past, I mean?"

Sonic shrugged, "Not much. He was a knight, a general in the army, he's awesome with a sword and he's got some funky powers – oh, and apparently our Mom told him to protect us."

Sonia nodded, "See, that's what's been bugging me – the 'funky powers' thing." She said, making Sonic frown slightly, "Do you realise what that means?"

"Um.."

Sonia sighed in exasperation, "Those powers – Chaos powers – that was how I knew he was telling the truth, about who he is. Only Sir Shadow the Hedgehog ever had powers like that - the ability to use Chaos Control, to go pretty much anywhere, almost instantly. That's why he was so famous, and so dangerous."

"So what?"

"Sonic… he escaped from the coup all those years ago. How do you think he did it?"

Sonic started. He couldn't imagine Maestro - _Shadow_ - running from any challenge, there was too much pride in those ruby eyes, too much dignity in his voice for sonic to ever believe that of him. "…you think he ran?"

"I think he had to," Sonia sighed, "To save Mom, and us. No one else made it out of the Palace alive."

Sonic's hands clenched, "No one…" he breathed.

"Did you ever notice the generation gap among the upper classes?" Sonia asked, "In the old days, before the Coup, it was expected for every young man to enter the Royal Army when they came of age… young women, too, eventually. It brought honour to the family. But now there's only the older generation and the ones our age. Everything in the middle…"

"Wiped out." Sonic said, his voice was soft but the raw anger grated through all the same, "Robotnik…"

Sonia nodded tiredly. She wouldn't look at him, tilting her back so her eyes focussed only on the grey clouds scudding by overhead, "That's why the Noble class just collapsed in front of him. They'd already lost so much, so they just gave him whatever he wanted."

Sonic forced himself to relax and unclench his muscles, trying to relax and not think about the death and destruction Robotnik had left in his wake, "Guess that's why they're so protective of their kids, too." He murmured.

Sonia bowed her head, and when she spoke, her voice was slightly thick, as though she was choking back tears, "For so long, I thought my parents – my adoptive parents, I mean – were just holding me back, trying to make me into their image of a perfect lady. It… it never even occurred to me that they were just trying to protect me. I don't even know… what if they had a son or daughter they lost during the coup?"

Sonic laid his hands on her shoulders, "That ain't your fault, sis. The only person to blame for that is Ro-butt-nik. You got nothin' to feel guilty about."

"I know," she sniffled, "but… I still feel I let them down, somehow."

Sonic shook his head, "No way. You did the best you can – you still are. You're fighting ol' Buttnik. That's the best you can do, cos when we've won, they're free."

Determination flashed across her face, the more familiar fierce expression wiping away any trace of grief or guilt, "Yeah, you're right. It just gives me another reason to kick Robotnik's big butt." She reached over and gave her brother a brief hug, "Thanks, Sonic."

Sonic smiled, "Hey, that's what family is for, right?"

She smiled back, "And, y'know how you were wondering why Shadow was helping us?"

"Apart from Mom telling him to, you mean?" There was no trace of sarcasm in his words, his voice instead sounding slightly wistful. He had imagined the scenario several times - the brace knight, the last of his kind, charged with defending the heirs of the kingdom, the last hope of the Acorn line. It was pure fantasy, but in his minds eye, at least it looked cool.

Sonia's voice, in response, was bitingly pragmatic, "Yeah, well, think of how many friends he must have lost to the coup."

Sonic froze.

Sonia continued, apparently not noticing her brother's paralysis, "I mean, he'd been in the army so long, he probably knew a lot of them personally."

"Wait… what do you mean 'for so long'?" Sonic asked, his throat almost closing over the words.

Sonia looked at her brother, and noticed the slightly wild look in his eyes, "Sonic…" she began gently, "He was part of the army for almost forty years."

Sonic just stared, "But… how? He doesn't…"

Sonia sighed, "You'll have to ask him yourself, Sonic. All I really know is what I've heard. And from what I've heard… he doesn't age."

"Hey sibs, what's happening?" The familiar voice of Manic cut straight through the intense conversation, "You guys starting a party without me?"

Sonic, of course, was instantly distracted by the arrival of his brother and turned around to greet his green sibling with a warm smile.

"Hey, bro!"

Sonia rolled her eyes '_Honestly,'_ she thought, _'Sometimes I think we should get him tested for ADHD. He's got the emotional stability of a rollercoaster._'

"Who's your new friend?" Sonic was asking, grinning down at the little fox who had arrived with Manic. Sonia looked for a moment at the young fox kit, noting something that had apparently completely bypassed her older brother's attention. She stared for a moment at the swishing twin tails then raised her eyes to try and catch Manic's eye, but to her consternation, the drummer was steadfastly ignoring her incredulous gaze.

"This is our mechanic. He's gonna fix up the van." Manic said in an uncharacteristically firm tone. Manic's eyes very briefly flickered over to Sonia, then back again to fix on nothing, "Then we're gonna give him a lift over to Starlight City."

Sonia's jaw dropped open. Sonic, his mercurial nature as simple and predictable as a sudden windstorm, just grinned wider and held out a hand to the kit.

"That's cool. Welcome aboard, big guy."

The kit stared up at him, big blue eyes a study in confusion. He lashed his double tails as if to emphasise them. Sonic barely seemed to notice.

"So, what's your name, big guy?"

The kit, utterly dumbfounded by the blue speedster's attitude, just blinked, "Uh… it's… um… it's Miles. But I hate that name."

Sonic titled his head, "Ah, that's too bad, big guy. How 'bout we call ya somethin' else?"

"Like a nickname? What sort of thing are we talking here?"

"Hmm…" Sonic mused, tapping his foot idly, "How about 'Tails'?"

The kit did a double take, "What? You mean, you noticed…?"

"Huh? Oh sure, they're kinda hard to miss, kiddo."

The newly dubbed 'Tails' stood slack-jawed and spluttering for a moment before gathering his wits, "But they're- and I'm… it really doesn't bother you?"

"Heh, no. They're cool!" Sonic grinned briefly before turning and vanishing back into the van.

Sonic's siblings snickered quietly at Sonic's typically outrageous behaviour. Tails stood, his tool kit hung forgotten in his hand as he stared down at the two fox tails that brushed the ground near his feet.

"No one… no one ever said they were cool before." He whispered to no one in particular.

Manic's hand came down on the kit's shoulder, "One thing you're gonna learn, dude, is that we're all strange, here."

"Sonic more than most." Sonia added sardonically. Manic looked at her breifly, questions in his eyes and Sonia nodded her assent, giving her approval. It hadn't taken long for Manic;s siblings to work out exactly why he wanted to take to little fox with them, the signs of hurt and abuse were plain in every move and gesture the kit made.

Tails blinked up at them, "Uh… I'm beginning to see that." He paused, fussing with the handle of his toolbox for a moment as the silence grew somewhat awkward, "So…why don't you show me what the problem is?"

Awkward moment broken, the fox and the green hedgehog turned to the van. Manic levered open the hood and propped it open, both staring intently into the depths of the engine, Manic describing the problem in detail while Tails listened intently, his small hands grasped a screwdriver and a wrench, roaming over some of the engine parts in search of the source of the fault.

Sonia watched, not having much better to do right now, watching Tails carefully, noting the scruffy, matted fur, the ragged gloves that were so dirty they were almost black. His shoes had almost no soles left, and it was impossible to tell what colour they had once been under the solid layer of dirt and encrusted oil. More than that, there was his body language, the way his eyes roved everywhere, alert for any sign of threat and how he would flinch away from physical contact unless he could see it coming. Even so, his hands moved across the engine with confidence and grace, the exchange of technical language displaying an intelligence and competence far beyond his tender years. He had survived on his own, despite everything set against him.

Eventually, the little fox stepped back and grumbled, "Ugh, I'm gonna have to go back and get a jack lift. Looks like I'll need to get underneath."

"No need." Sonia said, "Manic, go see if you can find some bricks or something that'll hold it up."

Manic grinned and nodded, jogging off to go find the requested items. Tails started oddly at her, "But how are we gonna get it off the ground without a jack?"

She smiled, "Leave that to me."

Manic arrived back carrying two breeze blocks and crouched in front of the van, waiting expectently. Sonia walked over, did a couple of light stretches, then stood in front of the van, her hands gripping the front of the main body. Breathing slowly and evenly, she bent her knees and lifted.

The front end of the van rose as she did so, her muscles were straining and sweat was standing out on her forehead, but the entire front end of the heavy vehicle was now a foot off the ground and rising. Manic jammed the blocks under the front axel and Sonia let go, breathing hard, but with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Will that do?" she asked pleasantly. Tails just stared.

"H… how? Who _are_ you?" Tails stuttered, amazement and disbelief mixed in with fear threaded through his words as he slowly backed off.

"We're the Sonic Underground, big guy." Sonic suddenly said, stepping out from behind him, having wisely left the van while it was tilting and slipped around behind them during the ensuing commotion.

"Sonic… Underground? You mean the rock group? Aren't you - I mean, you're _Freedom Fighters_?"

Sonic just laughed at the expression on the young fox's face, "We sure are!"

Tails' eyes roved over each of their faces, as if trying to look into their minds, "You're going up against Robotnik? Are you all… no, wait. You _must_ all be crazy."

"It runs in the family." Sonia said dryly, with a wry glance at Sonic, who was still grinning like a maniac.

Manic grinned, "You sure you want to come with us?"

Tails ignored that, "But why?"

"Because Robotnik needs to be stopped." A smooth, deep voice said from behind him, making the fox jump two feet in the air with surprise. Tails span around to see Shadow standing there, his eyes half closed as he leaned casually against a wall. His eyes opened slowly to regard Tails with that vivid garnet stare, "A wise man once said that all that is required for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing. We have no intention of letting Robotnik continue to run roughshod over the people of this world. More than that, though, the people need hope - a light at the end of the tunnel. Someone to look up to, to inspire them. That is what the Sonic Underground is, what it represents."

Tails stood stock still, pinned in place by Shadow's stare like a butterfly against a collector's board. Shadow's eyes softened, just slightly, "Do you understand?" the black hedgehog asked, his voice gentle, persuasive.

"Yes…" Tails breathed, "Yes, I understand."

Tails then felt a hand on either shoulder, and looked to see Manic's hand laying against his left shoulder, the studs on his leather half-glove gleaming in the dim afternoon light. Sonic's hand was on his other shoulder, his gloves blindingly white against his dingy fur. The gesture of acceptance made his eyes water, but he refused to let the gathered tears fall, and his posture remained stiff, defensive, as if part of him was still expecting the same rejection and betrayal he had experienced before.

Then Sonia was stood in front of him, a rare gentle expression on her face, her eyes warm, "Listen to me, you're welcome to join us if you want. Just to Starlight City, or further if you want. We're all a little strange, and we might take a little getting used to, but we're a family."

"Family…" Tails echoed, "I can't remember…" his words choked off as his throat closed over them, his eyes dropping down to fix on the concrete. The siblings exchanged a brief, horrified glance. The little kit couldn't remember what having a family was like? Though they had all shared the experience of losing their real family during the coup, they had nonetheless had their adopted families to lean on, to guide and support them as they grew until the time came for them to find their birthright.

The loss implicit in the little fox's suffering was unlike anything they had dealt with before and the look they exchanged was one of helplessness mixed with compassion. Sonic looked particularly frustrated, words were not his forte, he preferred actions, but the injured air about the little kit indicated that anything more than a gentle hand on the shoulder wouldn't be welcomed.

"Tails." Shadow's voice cut through the air, "Look at me." he said, his voice gently commanding. The kit's miserable blue eyes looked up to meet Shadow's gaze, Shadow dropped into a crouch to meet the little fox eye-to-eye, "I know this will be hard for you to believe, but we will not lie to you, hurt you, betray you or abandon you. If you wish for us to take you to Starlight City, then we will. But I think you deserve better than just to be abandoned again in a bigger town. You deserve a home."

The kit's almost tortured expression almost broke everyone's heart as tears began to slowly trickle from his eyes and into his fur, but Shadow kept their eyes locked, "I also know that you think you don't deserve it, that you aren't worth that kind of acceptance and devotion, but you are. And they will prove it to you."

With that, Shadow stood and walked over to stand just behind Sonic. The blue hedgehog threw a quick, puzzled glance at Shadow, but then he smiled and held out a hand to the fox kit.

"So what do ya say, Tails? Feel like joining our crazy little family?"

For a few seconds, it almost looked like the kit was going to refuse and walk away but then he suddenly seemed to dive forward, his tools clattering to the floor as he grabbed hold of Sonic's hand, holding it tightly in both of his own.

"Yes," He whispered, tears falling freely from his eyes, now, "Yes!"

Sonic laughed, "Welcome to the family then, lil' bro."

Sonia smiled indulgently, "Excellent. I'm glad that's sorted." she looked between Tails and Manic, "Now, any chance of actually getting our van fixed?"

####

Tails and Manic worked for several hours on the van, until the sun set and it got too dark to see. Shadow had given Tails the bunk that had only recently been designated as his, choosing instead to sleep on the floor, despite Sonic offering his own bed to the darker hedgehog.

The inside of the van was filled with the soft sounds of breathing as the all drifted off to sleep. Sonic glanced down to see Shadow curled up next to the bunk, the red stripes on his spines virtually the only thing about him that was visible. Raising his gaze, he saw the white tuft of fur on the end of one of Tails' namesakes dangling over the edge of the top bunk.

He smiled and closed his eyes, settling back to sleep and dream.

_Sonic found himself in a city. He wasn't sure which one, since most of the buildings were damaged, the towering skyscrapers had all their windows broken, steel struts twisted into useless wreckage. There was not a soul around; the place was eerily quiet, save for the peculiarly incongruous sound of rushing water. Sonic ran on confidently through the city, his feet seeming to lead him without his conscious direction. There was something… odd about the way he was running, though. The ground seemed to give way beneath his feet, almost like he was running on sand, and yet not the same. _

_Across the city, something stirred. A terrible, echoing roar echoed through the empty city as a strange, indistinct shape began to rise up amongst the broken buildings. Rivulets of dark, inky liquid ran down the remains of the shattered buildings as the sound of rushing water got louder and louder, almost deafening._

_A fierce, dangerous rage began to build in him, his hands clenched automatically into fits as the rage spilled through his veins, adrenaline burning in his blood. His lips were pulled back into an almost feral smile, excitement mixed with the rage, a dark pleasure in the destruction he saw all around him, a toxic satisfaction in what had been wrought. It was only then that he recognised the place – this was, or had been, Robotropolis. The seat of Robotnik's dark empire finally brought low._

_Anticipation of the battle to come flowed through him, he felt invincible, unconquerable. He drew in a deep breath; a fierce cry came to his lips, a scream for blood and vengeance which felt so utterly alien that Sonic almost recoiled until those dark emotions washed over him again, almost drowning him in the intoxicating feeling of the power they brought. _

_Something cold and damp touch his foot. He looked down and realised that the entire city was flooded; all this time, he had been running across water. That alone would have horrified him enough, but then he saw his reflection in the dark, rippling waters._

_He was sheathed in a halo of golden fire, his fur stained bright yellow. His quills were turned up at the tips in a way that almost reminded him of Shadow. But it was the eyes he saw in that distorted reflection that frightened him the most. _

_They were a dark, burning red. Not at all like shadow's calm garnet eyes, this gaze was filled with malice and insane fury, glinting like bloodied razors, hungry for more destruction, more death, more Chaos._

_His reflection smiled coldly at him, even as that monster at the other end of the city roared its challenge…_

Sonic woke, shivering and nauseous, his hands twisted around the blankets. He tried to lie back and take deep breaths hoping not to disturb his siblings, but the thought of the malice in those red eyes sent him stomach twisting into knots. It was one thing to fight monsters, it was quite another to see them in the mirror.

A hand suddenly settled against his chest, making him jump for a moment until he saw the light glinting of gold wrist-cuffs. Desperately, he sought Shadow's eyes, seeking reassurance in those ruby depths.

"It won't happen." Shadow told him firmly.

Sonic reached up to grasp Shadow's hand with shaky fingers, "How did you know?" he asked.

Shadow shook his head, "That doesn't matter now," Shadow replied softly, "All you need to know is that I will never let that happen. No matter what. You and your brother and sister will save this land, not destroy it."

There was nothing but determination and compassion in Shadow's gaze, no doubts at all. Sonic felt himself relax slightly, feeling the paradoxically pleasant pins-and-needles sensation of being in physical contact with Shadow race up his arm.

Sonic smiled at him, relaxing back into his pillow, drowsiness overtaking him again as the terror-fuelled adrenaline drained from his system to leave weariness behind. "Not without you, Maestro," he said tiredly, his eyes starting to droop closed, "You gonna stay with us, right?"

There was silence for a moment as Sonic slipped back into sleep. Then Shadow spoke again, his voice barely audible, "Yes, Sonic." He whispered.

_To be continued…_

Author's note: With thanks to Greyfore for some ideas used here.


	12. Tomorrow Never Knows

**Chapter 11 - Tomorrow Never Knows**

The heavy engine noise of a motorbike roared across the quiet countryside as Sleet and Dingo rode down the cracked tarmac that covered the road between Hill Top and Sunset Hill. Dingo, currently transformed into the motorcycle shape, grunted in discomfort every time he hit a particularly significant bump. Sleet just ignored him, his hands steering automatically as the rest of his brain wandered in thought.

Several hours spent in Hill Top, trying to bribe or intimidate some answers out of someone. He thought the entre operation was busted when that little rabbit girl had up and hurled Dingo through a window, but as usual, there was always someone who was wiling to stoop low enough to take money in return for information. The Sonic Underground van had headed this way - the shortest route back to Starlight City, which intelligence had suggested contained a fairly major Freedom fighter cell that Robotnik's spies still hadn't managed to locate.

Sleet suppressed a shudder as he thought of what he might find when they caught up with the royal brats. He was honest enough with himself to admit that his track record with the triplets hadn't exactly been stellar, and his situation had got significantly more precarious of late since they had apparently been joined by the legendary Sir Shadow the Hedgehog. If this latest attempt failed, they could well be in trouble. He wasn't overly worried about Sonic or his siblings, those three were nauseatingly merciful and compassionate, a properly worded sob story and enough grovelling would probably spare their lives... but Shadow was something else entirely.

There had been no mercy in those burning red eyes on that night seven years ago, and Sleet had no reason to believe any of that had changed. There was little doubt in Sleet's mind that Shadow would kill him if he posed a threat. Especially if the former First Knight of the Realm even found out who Sleet and Dingo had once been.

Captain Sleet Draconis and Colonel Robert Dingo of the Royal Acorn Regiment, as least before the fight that had ended up with a bullet lodged in their colonel's brain that had destroyed his memories, his personality and much of his former competence and intelligence. By the time Dingo had recovered (or recovered as much as he ever was going to) the coup was pretty much in progress. Sleet's loyalty had been personal rather professional, and Dingo's suddenly-acquired simple-mindedness coupled with Sleet's certainty that the Acorn Army was on the losing side pretty much made his mind up for him. He had deserted, wiping most of his records before he left, burning the vast majority of his uniform and setting himself up as a bounty hunter, Dingo following on his heels like a lost puppy.

It had taken months - perhaps even years - before Sleet had managed to quit his automatic habit of looking to Dingo for orders and instead start delivering his own. Even now, on occasion he still absently asked Dingo's opinion, even though he knew his fellow canine barely had an original thought in his head these days, but old habits were still hard to break. At least he had got out of the habit of calling him 'colonel' fairly quickly.

Something on the road caught his eyes, and he squeezed the brake hard, causing Dingo to grunt in surprise and discomfort as the tyres squealed to a halt on the cracked asphalt.

He leaned over in the saddle, reaching down with one gloved hand to touch at the thick, black substance that sat one the surface of the road. He sniffed at it tentatively.

"Oil," He muttered mostly to himself, "Not too clean, but fairly recent."

"What's that mean Sleet?" Dingo asked, his voice carrying the low engine hum of his current form.

"This isn't a well-travelled road," Sleet replied absently, then he smiled unpleasantly, sharp teeth unchanged from his feral ancestors glinted in the light, "This must be from the Sonic Underground van. It seems they've been having engine trouble."

"And that means we can catch them, right, Sleet?" Dingo said enthusiastically.

"For once, Dingo, yes, you are exactly right."

Sleet settled himself back into the bike saddle and revved up the engine, setting off down the road with a roar of engine noise and a cloud of tire smoke along with a muffled groan from Dingo.

Sleet's mind churned as he formulated plots and plans for capturing or destroying the triplets, the usual smooth process disrupted by the brief surges of pure terror that gripped his chest when he thought of Shadow the Hedgehog's dangerous, burning gaze. He was careful to keep his hands firmly on the handlebars and away from the sudden paranoid temptation to grip the old Army unit badge he kept tucked within his tunic.

* * *

Shadow rarely slept. He didn't really need physical rest and the time sleeping took up could be put to better use on more useful things. But the emotional strain and late hours he had put his body through today had taken its toll. He lay curled up on the floor next to Sonic's bunk, memories washing through his mind and taking the place of dreams. He dreamed and remembered the sound of waves...

_The boat had tipped over when it got to the shore, spilling its sole occupant onto the beach. He raised his head slowly - it wasn't like the beaches he had seen in pictures, there was no smooth white sands here, no towering palm trees, just sharp stones and tough, scrubby grass that poked out from between the smaller rocks. He had crawled over the pebbles and loose shale, ignoring the cuts and scrapes they left on his body, his mind numb to the pain. He shivered, icy sea water dripping from his fur and quills, indistinguishable from the tears that poured from his eyes. His mind was filled with the last words that had been spoken to him._

'Run, Shadow! Don't let them find you! Promise me, you'll stay safe...'

_The beautiful voice, the voice of the most important person in the world to him. Her last plea, her last command. A sob escaped from his lips as he remembered his failure - he was supposed to protect her and yet she had ended up protecting him... and she had paid the ultimate price. _

_The cost was too high. Far too high. He looked over his shoulder, feeling his heart clench in his chest as he looked across the rolling sea and distantly he could see the island - and the glow of the flames reflecting from the clouds. _

_Despair swirled in his mind, a grief far colder than the cold sea water wrapped around him. He sobbed again, his chest heaving. He tried to crawl faster, but he was exhausted, and grief drained whatever energy he had left. His arms shook as they tried to support him. There was a small stream nearby, he could hear its merry burbling at it sloshed over the rocks and pebbles as it meandered its way to the sea, the sound so at odd with the turmoil and pain thundering through him that it jarred him like a slap to the face. He crawled up the bank, the moss and grass gathered about the stream bank cold and strangely comforting against his abused body. A small patch of woodland lay up ahead, he headed for it - woodland was good, it meant cover, places to hide, perhaps to plan an ambush for if (or when) they came for him - it had been him they were after, his life his family had died to preserve. He wished he could have deserved their sacrifice._

_His vision swam. Adrenaline and sheer bloody-mindedness were the only things keeping him moving, his Chaos powers had been exhausted during the battle, his body had nothing more to give. His muscles trembled as the last of the adrenaline drained out of him, his reserves finally empty. _

_He didn't remember passing out, his next conscious memory was of someone shaking his shoulder. He jerked awake, trying to force his unresponsive body into a defensive pose._

_"Easy there, my lad." A male voice said, the mellow accent sounding strange to Shadow's ears. He opened his eyes, wincing when the light seemed to lance into his brain. When his vision cleared, the shape before him was a pale blue hedgehog wearing a forest green cloak and clutching a wooden longbow. _

_"Now then," the cloaked hedgehog said, his expression one of calm compassion - the same expression Maria had worn so often, "Tha'll just lay there for a bit, eh? Me lads'll be back soon an' we can get thee t' somewhere safe."_

_Shadow blinked slowly, trying to parse the strange mode of speech into something he could understand. "Who are you?" he rasped, the words painfully wrenched from a throat raw from weeping and yelling._

_The other hedgehog looked uncomfortable for a moment, his cloak shifted to reveal a uniform jacket - one of a totally different design to the Soleanna soldiers who had invaded his home. _

_"Well, most people would know me as Prince Robert o' the House of Acorn, but tha' can just call me Rob o' the Hedge like me lads do." he smiled, trying to be reassuring. _

_Shadow was not reassured at all. The royal eminence of his rescuer did not ease his mind. He had never dealt with royalty and had no idea what to do. His experiences thus far had proved only one thing to him - he was never safe. He would be hated and hunted for the rest of his life as a freak and an abomination. The pounding memory of Maria's last command to him fed his terror and he tried to sit up._

_"Stay still, lad!" Rob said in alarm, "Tha'll hurt thyself worse!"_

_"I can't," Shadow said, trying to force his exhausted body into compliance, "I have to run... nowhere is safe."_

_Rob shook his head, arms held out to support Shadow should he fall, "Tha'll be safe wi' us, lad..."_

_"No," Shadow almost sobbed, "You don't understand!"_

_A strange look crossed Rob's face, one that Shadow couldn't identify, "But I do, aye." He said quietly, "Tha' art not the only Chaos Touched that our kingdom keeps safe, my lad."_

_Shadow stared, and for the first time in several days, he felt a tiny spark of hope blossom inside him._

Shadow opened his eyes, the turmoil of the dream-memory swirling in his mind, reminding him of how much he owed the Royal House of Acorn, his duty was his life - the only thing he really had and he clung to it fiercely. He took a deep breath and sat up, noting as he did so that it was now daylight and the other occupants of the van were also stirring. The journey from Sunset Hill to Starlight City had been completed in the early hours after Manic and Tails had finished the repairs, leaving Sonic and Sonia to do most of the driving, which explained why the two of them were still dozing even at this fairly late hour. Shadow had assisted where he could - which had mostly meant doing heavy lifting and proving food and drink to whoever was driving.

Manic was already up, operating the small gas stove to make hot drinks. The delicious aroma of coffee drifting in the air, Manic grinned when he saw Shadow's expression and wordlessly handed the darker hedgehog a mug of fragrant beverage before taking one himself. He set two mugs of tea and a glass of milk down on the counter for Sonia, Sonic and Tails and took a sip of coffee.

"We got a meeting with some of the other Freedom Fighters in a couple of hours," Manic said quietly. "We'll probably have to leave you an' Tails here," Manic grinned apologetically, "They get kinda paranoid."

"Understandably," Shadow replied, "Don't worry, I'll look after Tails. I might see if I can get him cleaned up a little."

"Cool," Manic smiled, "Um, guess the kid needs some new shoes an' gloves, too." he said thoughtfully as his eyes came to rest on the kid's half-disintegrated sneakers.

"I have a little money," Shadow said carefully, "Not much, but I can probably find him some shoes."

Manic nodded, "Thanks, man. If he wants gloves, Sonic's got spares in the drawer next to his bed. I'm pretty sure he won't mind."

Shadow just nodded, fingers gripping his cup. Manic's idle conversation felt like a preamble - like the green hedgehog was trying to lead up to something.

"I've been meanin' to ask ya," Manic said finally after a few minutes of silence. Shadow raised an eye ridge, silently inviting the other hedgehog to continue, "I keep on hearin' the term 'Chaos Touched' but nobody seems to know what it really means. I figure you could tell me."

Shadow's hand clenched convulsively around his coffee mug so hard that it took considerable will to relax his grip enough to avoid crushing it into porcelain fragments. Echoes of his dream last night coming back to haunt him - the very reason for his frantic escape, and the deaths of his beloved family - the fact that he was Chaos Touched. He took another sip of coffee, the bitter brew calming him and soothing his suddenly dry mouth.

"It means..." He began, searching for the right words, "It means that the person has access to the powers of Chaos. To manipulate Chaos Energy using only their body and will. Everyone has Chaos Energy in them - all living things do, but a Chaos Touched can use that power - gather and store it and manipulate it to perform incredible feats. Things that looks like magic or miracles to those who don't understand."

"An' people are afraid of stuff they don't understand." Manic mused, sounding strangely pensive. Shadow nodded in acknowledgement. Manic fell silent again for a moment before he spoke again, and when he did, it was in a simple tone of matter-of-fact.

"Sonic's Chaos Touched, ain't he?"

Shadow almost dropped his coffee mug. "How did you..?" Shadow stuttered. Being taken by surprise was a rare experience for him.

Manic shrugged. "Ain't difficult to figure out. I don't know too many dudes who can hit mach two usin' just their feet. Is Sonia Chaos Touched too?"

Shadow frowned, "I don't know. Sonic definitely is - I can feel it. Sonia... possibly. It does run in your family, after all."

"Yeah?" Manic asked, his eyes lighting with interest.

"Your mother told me that roughly once every five generations it tends to turn up strongly. You may have heard about your ancestor, King Silver?" Shadow replied.

Manic nodded, "Sure! Silver the Flame-Heart. He sealed away the Flames of Destruction, right? Feral told me that story when I was still in diapers."

Shadow nodded, "He was also a Chaos Touched - a telekinetic, if the stories are true."

"Whoa." Manic breathed, then frowned, "How come Chaos powers can do so much different stuff? Super speed, super strength, telekinesis..."

"I don't know," Answered Shadow with a mild shrug, "I've never studied it in detail. good morning." he said then, turning to address Sonic, who had finally roused himself reluctantly from his bed.

"Hi Shadow, hi Manic," Sonic said, stretching out his stiff muscles.

"Mornin' Bro," Manic greeted him, "You remember we got that meeting today, right?"

"Sure do," Sonic replied easily, his super-quick metabolism had already jump-started his brain so he was already wide-awake and ready for the day ahead, "We gotta pick up the replacement stage kit too, right?"

"Right," Sonia said, joining the conversation and taking her mug of tea from the sideboard, "So just enough time for breakfast, then we better got moving." She looked at Shadow and the still-dozing Tails speculatively, a question unasked on her lips. Shadow had noticed the princess seemed oddly stiff and distant with him - oddly reluctant to speak with him directly. He wondered if she was simply embarrassed about her mistake regarding his identity when they first met, or if there was something else behind it - though what else it could be was beyond him.

"Shadow is cool with lookin' after Tails, sis," Manic said, "I asked already."

"Oh. Well. All right then. Lets get breakfast." Sonia said abruptly. Shadow finished his coffee in thoughtful silence. He couldn't help but notice that during their conversation Manic had failed to ask about his own potential Chaos powers. Was he so sure he didn't have any? Or... was he sure that he _did_?

He peered over Sonia's shoulder to fix on Manic as they prepared breakfast together, his garnet gaze glittering with quiet speculation.

_To be continued..._

_Authors notes: - Sorry I've been gone so long, guys! I've been trying to get back in groove now things have settled down a bit. Also, I hope Rob o' the Hedge's dialogue is understandable, here. A gold star to anyone who can identify his dialect. ;)_


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